Sand Dune Oysters from Souris, PEI, CAN

Harvest location: Souris, East Cape, Prince Edward Island, CAN

How they’re grown: Phil harvests wild seed from the area and let’s these babies grow to perfection on the famous red sand dunes around the Souris river. They are all bottom cultivated. The oysters are moved seasonally to protect them from the winter ice. They are harvested a low tide by hand as much as possible. These oysters are some of the most mature that we carry! They take around 4 to 6 years to reach market size.

Why they’re unique: The Sand Dune name was first coined by the previous lease owner Tommy MacDonald who is still involved in the company today. Since the 1980s, these oysters have graced raw bars and are well known for their intense flavor and beautiful shuck! As to be expected, there are sand dunes that run all along this corner of PEI, hence the appropriate name!

Story: Phil started this oyster farm in 2016 as an irresistible side hustle. He gained access to the Sand Dune lease and also started to grow his own East Capes which are the newer of the two oyster projects. Growing up on PEI, Phil fell in love with ocean and boating and couldn’t let the opportunity to grow oysters pass him by. His main source of business is exporting his own farmed onions and potatoes he grows on PEI. Sand Dunes have been in Canada for over 30 years and came to the U.S. for the first time in 2017. We are pretty grateful to have access to this Canadian treat.

Photography by Al Douglas

Consuming this product can expose you to chemicals including lead, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.