Ninigret Nectar Oysters from Charlestown, RI

Harvest location: Ninigret Pond, Charlestown, RI

How they’re grown: In wine making, home buying, and oyster farming, location is everything! Matt Behan specifically chose his farming site because it’s tucked away in a beautiful salt pond connected to the ocean. Rhode Island salt ponds are truly special, owing their unique flavor profiles to their various shapes formed by glaciers thousands of years ago! Ninigret Nectars’ growth process starts in May with oyster seed before graduating to a customized version of rack and bag system which prevents the oyster from ever touching the ground and allows 360º water flow. Cages air dry twice a week, resulting in hearty shells and strong adductor muscles. The fastest growers will be ready for harvest starting the following year with the slower growing oysters being harvested up until year three.

Why they’re unique: Matt Behan is not only an experienced farmer, but has worked nearly every job one can have on the water – deckhand, dragger, tugboat captain, and even holds a 100GT Master Captain’s license, the highest level license that you can acquire.

Story: Matt Behan got his start around 1998 working on a different oyster farm after graduating with a degree in aquaculture. At first, it was just Matt and his dad; the man who first sparked his love for the ocean, and who taught him how to fish off Point Judith. Maybe it was catching that first fish off Point Judith, or maybe it was the power of his dad’s incredible mustache… Either way, Matt was hooked on the salt life. In 2021, he and his dad transformed three bare acres of sand visible from his backyard into Behan Family Farms. Today, they’re raising up to 1.75 million oysters a year!

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.