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| Issue #24, September 8, 2006 |
An Early Bike To A North Fork Oyster Farm
Learning About Oyster Farming From An Expert On The North Fork
By Jerry M. Brown
One early summer morning, ten bikers from the East Hampton Trail Preservation Bike Group cycled seven miles through Shelter Island, and then took the North Ferry to Greenport. The ultimate destination was Mike Osinski’s oyster farm. What was expected to be a 30-minute visit turned out to be a two-hour fun-filled adventure.
Arriving at 10:30 a.m. at the sprawling 19th Century captain’s house at the end of Flinn Street, we found no one in sight. Instead, we were greeted by six tiny black Labrador puppies who ventured out from under the deck. Two noisy geese squawked hello as well.
Various tools were scattered around the lawn – oyster cages, equipment to service the boat, wheelbarrows to transport the oyster sacks to the van.
The lawn overlooked an expansive view of the Peconic Bay, where the oyster beds were placed. Buoys demarcated the location of the oyster traps. To the side was a quiet inlet with a dock; the inlet was called Widow’s Hole. The prior owner had bought the bay bottom and paid taxes on it - a fact that Osinki didn’t find out until after he had purchased the house. A fortuitous circumstance for the novice oyster farmer. Prior to his move to Greenport in 1999, Osinski had been a software developer for mortgage backed securities in New York City. He chose early retirement and moved to Greenport.
Finally, the family arrived after doing some errands in town - Mike, his wife Isabelle, seven-year old Susannah, six-year-old Mercator, Gertie the chocolate Labrador and Nero, her friend.
Mike led the group of bikers over to the oyster beds – a scenic spot overlooking the Greenport-Shelter Island ferry. He described oyster farming as gardening. He had to “tend to his garden” every day. Some days were more productive than others.
Osinski is immersed in the landscape. He says he doesn’t necessarily know what day it is but he lives by the tide tables. An active osprey nest is about 100 feet from where he was speaking to the bikers but the birds didn’t seem to care.
He told us about oyster farming:
-It takes two years for an oyster to go from seedling to adult.
-The health of an oyster depends on the quality of water passing through it; the water provides salinity and influences the liquid in the oyster.
-The gardening is very labor intensive; the cages are heavy, weighing as much as 300-400 pounds. Osinski has lost 20 pounds since he started this new venture.
-He and his wife tend to the garden all year round, making winter a dangerous time because of the ice and bone-chilling temperatures in January.
-He tries to grow the oyster to three inches to meet the demands of New York City restaurants such as Le Bernadin, Esca, and Gramercy Tavern, who prefer smaller oysters.
-All the ingredients exist for terrific oyster farming – the water is brackish which prevents the oyster’s enemies from eating it, yet there are enough ingredients in the water so the oyster can grow and become an adult. Osinski currently harvests 300,000 oysters a year. He sells oysters to a restaurant for about 75 cents each. The day he harvests the oysters, he delivers them to the New York restaurants – making them as fresh as possible.
Osinski is developing plans to increase his annual oyster output by preparing the inlet for seedlings so he can eliminate the need to buy them. Previously, Osinski would get up early, work after breakfast until lunch and then be done for the day. With his new project underway, he needs to work after lunch as well.
Oysters can be either male or female or they can be male one year and female the next. Farmers are not sure how they go about making seeds but if you place the seeds in the right environment, they will grow. You need a few brood oysters at 70 degrees temperature to create an environment where a seed develops.
Mike brings the oysters into his house where I, along with the biker group, watched as he proceeded to carefully open the oysters on ice.
The tastings began. If you want to become an oyster gourmand, you need to know that the liquid or liquor in the oyster is as important as the actual eating of the oyster. A debate exists on whether you should swish the oyster within your mouth or whether you should take a bite or two and swallow it. Since the oyster is alive when eaten, opinions vary on which is the most tasty.
By noon, we had to be pried away for a return bike trip to East Hampton. As we took the ferry ride back to Shelter Island, Mike’s buoys glistened in the sun – bidding us farewell.
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