First oyster farm on Boston’s South Shore now selling to chefs across the country

DUXBURY – An oyster farm south of Boston is shipping its harvest across the country.

Island Creek Oysters of Duxbury was the first oyster farm on the South Shore.

“We grow oysters, so people get overwhelmed by that process. We create oysters here,” Capt. Dave May told WBZ-TV.

Growing oysters

“They’re grown on the bottom in the mud, so they have an earthy flavor,” May said. “There’s very cold, nutrient-rich water there, and when the water goes out here and comes back in six hours later, it’s new water. So the oysters are never really in the same water for more than a day.”

Three separate farms in Duxbury grow different varieties of oysters, but the original is Island Creek.

The popular “Row 34” oysters are grown six inches above the bay bottom at the Aunt Dotty, on a farm just down the road.

“They get their first taste of the cold Atlantic water as it flows on the tidal cycle,” May said. “They’re a little saltier, a little sweeter.”

The oyster farming process starts in the hatchery. First they start in a laboratory, then they are fed algae before being moved to Duxbury Bay to continue growing in cages.

National oyster trade

But the oysters are not only popular locally. They are sold to companies as far away as Napa, California.

Chris Sherman, CEO of Island Creek, said they are “now distributing to 700-800 chefs across the country.”

With Island Creek’s raw bar, restaurants, tours and plum classes, the farm has built a name that locals have trusted for almost 30 years. They organize tours from May to September.

“Coastal communities are really at the heart of what we do,” Sherman told WBZ. “Our mission as an organization is to grow thriving coastal communities.”