Raking It In By Rindy Higgins In 2011, The Hour newspaper in Norwalk, Connecticut, published 10 articles about local shellfishing. This booklet contains all of the articles as originally published plus additional photographs and material that supplement the themes in the series. 2 Rindy Higgins, a Commissioner of the Westport Shellfish Commission, a member by appointment to the statewide Long Island Sound Assembly, Director of the Nature Center at Sherwood Island State Park, and a trustee of the Brooks Pond Conservation Association in Massachusetts, was a marine educator for more than 21 years at The Maritime Aquarium and a nationally recognized science teacher. She served as curator of “The Sound and The Saugatuck”, a 2012 exhibit at the Westport Historical Society. Her "Raking It In" series discusses the benefits and challenges, techniques, ecology, and cultural heritage of shellfishing in Westport waters. Note: All of the original articles that appeared in The Hour are reprinted in this pamphlet. For purposes of enhancement, additional ma terial has been added by the author. The supplemental photos, captions, recipes, poems and diagrams are identifiable by the pale blue coloration surrounding these additions. 3 For more information or for personal presentations related to material presented in this pamphlet, please contact: Rindy Higgins Environmental Educator [email protected] 203-858-7271 4 INDEX Shellfishing: Go local, go green (May 2) 5 Starting to clam up (May 16) 8 Digging in (June 1) 11 What's Going On Down There? (June 18) 14 The sport of shellfishing (July 18) 18 Commercial shellfish businesses doing well on Long Island Sound (July 25) 24 Team Enforcement: Key to healthy shellfish (August 22) 30 ‘Destination Oysters' draw in diners (September 25) 35 Sucking and slurping: The sounds of the Oyster Festivals (September 19) 40 The lore and lure of shellfish (October 9) 45 Bonus: A Song of the Oyster 51 The Tale of the Oyster 52 5 May 2, 2011 Canal Beach Westport / Photo Alex von Kleydorff. SHELLFISHING: Go local, go green Editor's note: Today The Hour starts a 10-part series on shellfishing, both recreational and professional. Shellfishing is a part of our local maritime history and remains a vital part of local industry and community. The series will be written in column form by local shellfishing expert Rindy Higgins and they mean to educate. This first column in the series will be a go-local introduction to shellfishing in our area. Upcoming columns will range from how to get started and where to get a permit to how to prepare and eat them. We will also look at the history and economic impact of the oyster beds in our region and finally explore how our shellfish are celebrated at local festivals - the ChowderFest and the Norwalk Seaport Association Oyster Festival. By Rindy Higgins Special to The Hour With two full years of locally generated data now available to the Westport Shellfish Commission, some surprising and encouraging findings are emerging. Last year, more than 1,000 permits were issued to people wanting to shellfish recreationally in Westport's waters, a 14 percent increase over the year before. The Shellfish Commission is appointed by the First Selectman, and is charged with recommending policy choices that sustain one of the town's most precious and enjoyable resources: its offshore shellfish beds. 6 Where Westport families can find local, fresh, sustainable food at a reasonable cost is of keen interest to more budget and environmentally conscious households than ever before. Increasingly, residents have been flocking to area farmers markets, selectively patronizing restaurants and shopping at grocery stores featuring locally grown foods, and producing their own food in community or at-home gardens. The greening of Westport is not only about fruits and vegetables, however. The best satisfaction for discriminating palates also involves eating fresh, local and sustainable seafood. The offshore waters of Westport yield a rich harvest of shellfish that make every seafood connoisseur's mouth water. With state regulations and town commissions maintaining standards for safety and sustainability, a growing abundance of local shellfish are being brought by commercial fishermen to local restaurants, grocery stores and farmers markets. The best news is that many individuals are discovering that they can also harvest shellfish for themselves, economically and easily. There's no need for a middleman and no need to spend time and effort growing it. The Town of Westport actually cultivates a "garden under the sea" where Connecticut residents can harvest shellfish. Connecticut’s largest farmland is actually a ‘garden under the sea’ (north above the dashes on the chart). Of the 395,512 acres owned by Connecticut in Long Island Sound, 168,304 are less than 40 feet deep, appropriate for commercial harvesting. Acres that are presently harvested amount to a total of 79,378 acres of which there are 13,818 acres of natural beds harvested commercially and recreationally, 16,368 acres of town commercial beds and 49,192 acres of state-owned commercial beds. Westport now controls the permitting process for its own publicly accessible shellfish beds. That's because in 2007 former Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed a bill transferring back to the Town of Westport the stewardship of its recreational shellfish beds. Management of 'this garden under the sea' was placed back under the jurisdiction of the Westport Shellfish Commission, which works with local marine enforcement services and area shellfishermen, as well as the Town Health Department and the Connecticut Department of 7 Agriculture/Bureau of Aquaculture, to maximize safe and productive development and usage of the shellfish beds The best local recreational area is one known as Cockenoe Flats, which lies between the southern boundary of Saugatuck Shores (low water mark) and the northern shore of Cockenoe Island. When Westporters talk about local shellfish, they mean the two-shell kind. Right in our watery backyard are a variety of shellfish such as Quahog clams, steamers, razor clams, eastern oysters and blue mussels just waiting to be harvested, brought home and served up raw or prepared in some favorite way. How people partake in this economical, fun and go-green recreational activity is actually fairly simple. They need an inexpensive town permit (for Connecticut residents, prices are $10 or $20, depending on the age of the applicant and duration of the permit), knowledge of the rules, some basic equipment, and a spirit of adventure. "Raking It In" is all about an aqueous treasure hunt. Future articles in this series will discuss where to get a permit, what the rules are, the ecology of the sought-after shellfish, what equipment is needed for harvesting, why this area's cultural and historical heritage is rich with the lore and lure of the oyster, tips and ideas for preparing a locally grown seafood dinner and much more. Next time: a discussion of how to get started, how the permitting process works and what equipment one needs to harvest shellfish from local waters. 8 May 16, 2011 Shellfishing signs at Compo Beach in Westport Sunday morning. Hour Photo / Danielle Robinson Starting to clam up By RINDY HIGGINS Hour Correspondent With the approach of warm weather and the chance to get outside, more and more people are calling the Westport Shellfish Commission to inquire about how to shellfish recreationally in town's waters, says Alicia Mozian, Conservation Director. "Getting a permit is easy", said Mozian. "There are some regulations that must be strictly observed." Anyone over the age of 17 may purchase a permit, which, like a fishing license, must be displayed when using it. The brief application form can be found by calling the Westport Shellfish Commission or online at the town website www.westportct.gov ("How do I" tab/scroll down to Get a shellfish permit) and filed in one of three ways: mailed back with a self-addressed envelope; filed in person at Room 205, Westport Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Ave. or at Westport Outfitters, 609 Riverside Ave. This is the second year that the Shellfish Commission is collaborating with Eric Johnson of Westport Outfitters, which has been supplying recreational anglers and boating enthusiasts with the equipment, supplies and 9 support for 20 years. Their expanded hours, which include weekends, make it convenient to obtain a permit when the town hall is closed (see www.westportoutfitters.com). Several fee structures apply. Connecticut residents between the ages of 17-64 pay $20 and seniors pay half. Out of state residents between the ages of 17-64 pay $50 and seniors pay half. Permits are valid from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. New this year are daily permits which cost $10 and can be postdated to the desired date; this allows those who may be in town for a limited time to test the waters at a lower cost. Since children under 17 years old do not need a permit, they can join in the treasure hunt for free, as long as they are accompanied by an adult with a permit. These fees allow for families to share the joys of an outside, inexpensive activity together, gathering the sea's produce for dinner. Only certain areas may be harvested recreationally, so checking or downloading the map from the Town website is important. It shows the location of the recreational shellfish beds at Cockenoe Flats, which lies between the southern boundary of Saugatuck Shores and the northern shore of Cockenoe Island. The signs at Compo Beach clearly indicate which areas are available for shellfishing. There is also visible signage posted in three locations that indicate where the town has recreational shellfish beds. These diamond-shaped demarcation signs are half red which indicates a closed area and half white pointing to the conditionally open areas.