Rob Krause, Ninigret Oyster Farm, Charlestown, Rhode Island
Rob has had his own oyster lease for about 5 years now, and has seen steady growth during that time. He has fished commercially, and continues to do so part time, which was one reason I gave him a call: in Maine, many of the recent entrants into the shellfish aquaculture industry either come from the commercial fishing industry, or they are doing both. This transition is a really interesting one, and I was curious to hear Rob's take on things.
Rob says that the production from his shellfish farm allows for a relatively steady and predictable income. This is in contrast to the fishing that he does, and even though he'd like to fish more (for example, potting for black sea bass), he finds a nice balance between the two activities, and for him, the industries complement one another. He's sort of a fisherman with an aquaculture habit. Or the other way around, it's hard to tell. Anyway, his operation uses a combination of bottom growing and raft culture (nursery and staging for shipment) in his business, and business appears to be good.
He likes being a price maker rather than a price taker, like many other oysters growers, and it's a little grating some times when he sees product dumped on the market at really low prices. The care he takes in growing a top-quality product has paid off, and he'd like to keep it that was.
As for reactions from other fishermen in the area, he acknowledges that there is some friction, and that loss of fishable bottom has been an issue to some of the guys he talks with. At the same time, he's gotten a fair number of inquiries from other fishermen about his business, and the aquaculture industry. These guys don't particularly want others to know that they are making the inquiries - which tells you something about the state of affairs generally - but the questions are asked nonetheless. He estimates that about 2/3 of the state's 30-some shellfish farms are run by folks who have a fishing background, or who still fish commercially as well. Most of these are younger guys, who seem to be a bit more open about the possibilities of shellfish culture as a marine enterprise.
We got talking about the differences between fishing and farming, such as the fact that fishing usually results more or less in an immediate return - you go fishing and you come home with fish - whereas with farming, you have realize that the payday is down the road a piece. He sees this firsthand for sure, but also says that watching his oysters grow has been helpful in that regard, and that others would probably feel the same way. It's a little easier to take, knowing that your seed oysters have grown; you develop a kind of relationship with them. Having said that, he's not expecting a boom in fishermen becoming shellfish growers any time in the near future; it's just too different and difficult a business.
He and several other shellfish growers have joined forces to create a co-op, and he sees real benefit in this group. "It's an aquaculture think tank" is what he says, and instead of being competitors, is a forum for sharing ideas and trying things out. It also really helps in sharing the costs for becoming a Certified Shellfish Dealer, and he figures it is saving him about $1200 a year.
To get in touch with Rob, drop him a line a ninigretoysters@cox.net. or give a little Google on Ninigret Oyster Farm; though he does not have his own website, there is information on various pages on the web that will be useful.
Nice talking with you, Rob!
