Moon Shoal Oysters from Barnstable, MA

Harvest location: Barnstable, MA, CCB31MA

How they’re grown: Seed begins its journey in a custom-made up-weller system constructed from PVC pipe and window screen. The oysters continue to a rack and bag system until they reach about 2 inches, and then they’re placed in trays made from lobster cages. The oysters live in open trays on a sandbar, with plenty of room to be tumbled and grow hardy, rounded shells. Jon and his crew give them a healthy amount of daily TLC, and they hand-harvest directly from the trays.

Why they’re unique: Jon’s lease in Barnstable Harbor is about a mile offshore and can only be accessed by boat at low tide. It’s tucked behind Sandy Neck Beach, a barrier beach that protects the farm from the Atlantic Ocean. The combination of the twice-daily 10-foot tides, the sandy floor, the surrounding marshes, and the freshwater creeks that run through the farm, give Moon Shoals a unique and complex taste that Jon describes as “balanced by nature”.

Story: There’s a reason people rave about Moon Shoals when we have them on our site, and we think it might have a little something to do with the people behind the oysters. Jon Martin, a native Cape-Codder, is a full-time firefighter with the Hyannis Fire Department and an all-around great guy. He got hooked on aquaculture many years ago when he (somewhat serendipitously) joined a friend of a friend on his boat to tour the grants after a 24-hour shift at the fire station. He’s been harvesting full-time since 2008.

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.