Oysters live above the sediment and often attach to one another because each new generation cements itself to existing shells. Oysters, in contrast, have two shells that are slightly different: one is cupped, and the other is flat. They live buried in sediment and stick out their necks (actually, their siphons, which carry water in and out of the animal) to feed. Clams have two shells that are mirror images of each other. This cultch is critical as it provides a substrate for the baby oysters when they settle.What’s the difference between a clam and an oyster?Ĭlams and oysters are both bivalve molluscs. So to counter this, the Shellfish Department puts down cultch where needed every year. The cultch that is laid down eventually will get either silted over or broken up by the ice in the winter. Wellfleet’s natural reefs have long since disappeared and the reefs aren't able to build themselves up due to the robust nature of the harvest. They work with many of the oyster farms as well to collect any extra natural spat that might have settled on their gear after spawning season.Īnother incredibly important job that they have is laying down cultch every year. The Shellfish Department also raises approximately 400,000 baby oysters in cages and hats and releases the into the recreational harvest sites. The state closely monitors these events in the interest of keeping everyone safe and the resource protected. Permits are required to harvest and sometimes there are closures due to contaminated water runoff or bacteria/parasites. They patrol the shellfish areas to ensure harvesters are not over-fishing. The town of Wellfleet’s Shellfish Department plays a vital role to ensure the Oyster harvest. Meanwhile Wellfleet restaurants and consumers are generating a large amount of shell right in town that ultimately ends up in a landfill! We are hoping to halt this trend by collecting the shell generated by local restaurants and give it to the town to use as cultch. The town of Wellfleet spends $10,000 each year to ship clam shell from Rhode Island to serve as shell bed, aka “cultch”, for the natural oyster spawn. That is one reason why they grow together to form large structures.īy returning shells back to the environment, this ensures that the oyster larvae will have a place to settle. Oysters that can’t find a hard surface can get covered over and smothered by shifting sands or sediment. The baby oyster then loses its ability to swim and will live there for the rest of its life. It can be anything, but the ideal surface for baby oyster is other oysters! Whether it’s a shell or a rock, the larvae settles on a surface (this phase lasts for a week or two). They follow chemical signals in the water, looking for something hard to attach to. Baby oyster larvae, called veligers, are able to “swim” to find a permanent home to spend their lives. This removes the substrate and calcium carbonate supply that the shell provides for the environment. Whenever an oyster is harvested, its shell is removed from the environment. The wild harvest is so popular that the town works to ensure the natural population doesn't vanish. Oyster connoisseurs around the country are now familiar with Wellfleet oysters. Recently, the wilder oyster harvest and oyster farming have grown even more important. Shellfish harvest has been important to the town’s economy over its history, even during the booms and busts of the town’s whaling and herring industries. One of the first European explorers to the area, Samuel de Champlain, named it Port aux Huitres (“Oyster Port”) due to the abundance of oysters in the area. The native Wampanoag people harvested shellfish long before the Europeans came. Wellfleet’s long, gently sloping shoreline was historically covered in oyster reefs. Mac’s Chatham Fish & Lobster, 1291 Main Street Route, 28, Chatham, MAĪrnold’s Lobster & Clam Bar, 3580 US-6, Eastham, MA Wellfleet Bookstore & Restaurant, 50 Kendrick Ave, Wellfleet, MAīeachcomber, 1120 Cahoon Hollow Rd, Wellfleet, MAĭel Mar Bar & Bistro, 907 Main St, Chatham, MA Van Rensselaer's, 1019 US-6, South Wellfleet, MA Winslow's Tavern, 316 Main St, Wellfleet, MAĬShore, 554 State Highway Route 6, Wellfleet, MA Mac's Seafood Shack, 91 Commercial St, Wellfleet, MA We thank these restaurants for participating and hope to work with them in the future. Wellfleet residents and visitors were able to dine at any of the below restaurants to not only enjoy some delicious oysters, but help restore the coastal ecosystem of Cape Cod. Participating restaurants during Summer 2022
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