We were pleased to facilitate Tim Wheeler’s visit to five Dorchester oyster farmers to learn how aquaculture is opening up new business ventures for traditional watermen. Wheeler’s resulting article – “Passion Grows for Oyster Farming” – along with a wonderful photo gallery by Kim Hairston, appeared in the Baltimore Sun in November 2013.
Oysters may or may not be an aphrodisiac, but they sure bring out passion in those who raise them for a living. Tim Devine barely knew from oysters when he was growing up in Easton, not far from the Chesapeake Bay. Now he’s growing them on 10 acres of bay bottom near here that he’s leased from the state, and professing to love the hard work and challenges involved in cultivating and selling his prized bivalves.
“It just seemed like the stars aligned,” Devine, 37, said of his transition from commercial photographer in New York City to yeoman oyster farmer. Offering a sample to a visitor, he describes the glistening gray gob on a half-shell as if it was a fine wine, pointing to its mild, buttery taste, with just enough salt.
Read full article here. Photo credit Kim Hairston, Baltimore Sun.
