Meet the Farmers
Johns River Oyster Co.
South Bristol, ME
The featured oysters in your product were farmed with love by the team at Johns River Oyster Co. in the cold, nutrient-rich waters of Johns Bay near South Bristol, ME!
These oysters were then hand-shucked by the team at Nor’Easter Oyster Co., and packaged for your enjoyment.
About
Farm: Johns River Oyster Co.
Farmer: Dave Cheney
Harvest Location: Johns Bay, ME
Flavor Profile: Briny with a hint of umami
How They’re Grown
Johns River Oysters begin as tiny, 2mm oysters, known as spat that grow in the farm’s nursery on the upper Damariscotta River. Once they reach 1 inch, the tiny oysters are moved to cages that float atop the water’s surface. They remain in these cages, nourished by the sea, and bobbing in the tides, over the next 2 years. The Johns River Team regularly tends to the oysters to ensure they are growing health.
Dave selects some of his oysters to be plucked from their cages and placed on the bottom of Johns Bay—a different estuary further DownEast, closer to the Atlantic Ocean.
Then, after an additional 2 years (or sometimes longer), Dave and his team don their scuba gear, and hand-harvest these beauties. As they’ve been growing on the sea floor, some of them have some pretty wild shapes, and loads of character!
Johns River Oyster Co. owner, Dave Cheney, has done it all—from lobstering, to digging clams, to growing oysters. Dave founded Johns River Oyster Co. in 2007, and it quickly grew into one of Maine’s largest, and most renowned sea farms.
Dave’s Story
Dave is also a member of the Town of Bristol’s Shellfish Committee, a municipal body tasked with preserving the sustainable harvest of the area’s shellfish for future generations.
Nor'Easter Oyster Co is a woman-owned aquaculture business, and Southern Maine’s first shellfish processing facility. Our mission is to create new revenue opportunities for local Maine sea farmers by purchasing excess oysters, that would otherwise go unused, and transforming them into premium seafood products.