MEET OUR FARMERS

SCOTT MULLIN

Ever wonder where that oyster or clam has been before it comes to your table? Scott Mullin, former president of the Massachussetts Aquaculture Association (MAA) can explain it.

"Aquaculture" simply means cultivating fish or shellfish under controlled conditions. You might say that aquaculture is to shellfish what agriculture is to gardening. One big difference, though, is that MAA is composed completely of individual shellfish farmers -- Cape Cod has no big companies growing its oysters and clams.

A 12th generation Cape Codder, Scott and wife Jennifer have two young daughters, two cats, and a six-acre oyster farm. He's had a shellfish "grant" for more than a decade, meaning that he's received federal and state approval to be granted a license over an area of tidal flats, or land under coastal waters, by his town government. Farms are only licensed where the water is clean under all conditions.

The Mullins sell their shellfish, as required by law, to a wholesaler, who then sells to retailers.This system is in place not for purposes of processing -- none is necessary -- but to allow for the tracking of each oyster or clam that reaches your plate. The shellfish industry is dedicated to assuring that its product is clean, safe and fresh!

How did Scott get started? After receiving a B.S. in Resource Economics at UMASS, Amherst, he came back home to Barnstable. Knowing he wanted to pursue commercial shellfishing as his full-time career, he had to wait two years before getting his lease. He and Jen then got a grant for a sandbar in the middle of Barnstable Harbor.

First, he had to acquire his animals--the oyster seed that starts out measuring two-and-a-half millimeters. He placed his order with a hatchery where adult shellfish are stimulated to spawn in temperature-controlled tanks, producing thousands of larvae. At the hatchery, the larvae receive a diet of algae until they are big enough to ship.

"The best way to visualize how oysters develop is that a soda can would hold 100,000 animals," he explains. "During the first year of growth, a 'six-pack' of seeds would wind up filling half of a 10-wheeler truck to the ceiling. It would be well over half a million oysters, weighing about 10,000 pounds."

The tiny seed must be carefully tended for two to three years until they reach the minimum selling size of 3". "If you neglect them, they suffer," Scott emphasizes. "They're finicky. They get mad. I started growing with 15 bags. In less than four months, I had 1500 bags. And during this time, you have to thin them and sort them according to size, because when they're with like sizes, they'll grow faster."

Cultivation requires an investment not only in time, but in equipment. Mesh bags and crates to hold the oysters are essential to protect them from predators. Then there are smaller items, like waterproof paper, to keep accurate records, and big buoys to mark the grant's boundaries. One thing farmers don't have to purchase, though, is feed. Oysters eat by constant filtering, so they effectively "clean" the water they live in.

Scott usually works 10-hour days, six days a week, and Jen often works as well. Still, there's more demand then he can supply. "During greenhead season, it's the worst," he says. "After a frost, though, you couldn't work in a better place. The middle of February is great. But I do always love being on the water. I couldn't see myself working indoors."
Just how good does he think his oysters are?  "When I bring a bag to market, I know it's the best work I can do," Scott says with justifiable pride. "When people in Chicago say ours are the best, I really believe it. The real judge and jury is the consumer."