Bay Enterprises Limited - Malagash Bay, NS

August 24 and 25, 2009

Driving up through Nova Scotia takes a long time, but it certainly is worth it. In Maine, we have a nice confluence of earth, water and sky, but it seems even more so here, north of the border between Amherst and Antigonish. I pass by farms and fields, none of which have a rock bigger than a softball in them. Amazing, in contrast to much of New England.

'Antigonish' is pronounced with the principal accent on the last syllable...'ish' and the secondary accent on the first. An-tig-on-ISH, but the locals, who have had a little practise at this sort of thing, run it all together smoothly so it comes out sounding like AN-na-gon-NISH. So, I fell into that pronunciation trap, and sounded like a rube right off the bat. Regardless of language foul-ups, I travelled yesterday to Malagash Bay, to meet with Charles Purdy, of Bay Enterprises, Ltd. and his wife, Nancy.

Charles is one of those guys - the ones who can make or repair anything (he's even trained the local crows and ravens to eat green crabs, and the photo of him above is about a woodburning unit he will use to drive a combustion engine, by capturing unburned vapors), who have a restless brain, and who take a creative approach to everything. Charles and Nancy have been operating this shellfish farm for over 15 years, and before that, had worked on the family farm, operated a sawmill, and even owned a store. Nonetheless, shellfish growing seems to have taken deep root, and they have invested time, energy and money into this growing business, a business that now includes the next generation in their daughter Rachel. Even Rachel's kids are on the farm many days, so it truly is a family enterprise.

***Charles Purdy, with a tractor he imported from Belorussia, one of his former endeavors.  The guy can do anything.  On his farm, he's able to use the tractor on the flats in front of his house, something that would be unthinkable in Maine.






The lease they work, or at least part of it, was originally owned by Charles' great-great grandfather, so a historical context is only a memory away. Today, the group operates two tracts of about 400 acres total, in Malagash Bay. They grow Eastern oysters, European oysters, hard clams, and a few bay scallops. It's extensive culture for the most part, with a steady natural set that they help along by working the shell beds, and which they are building upon with a hatchery.

*** I'm sorry to say that I can't recall the names of these two students who'd worked in the hatchery: Charles spoke very highly of both of them.




Their shellfish travels all across Canada and into the US, and they have sold into the EU a bit as well, although rules for importing shellfish into the European Union have made it difficult. The events of Sept. 11th also changed things for importing into the US as well, and has curtailed a fair bit of their shipments to the States.

Coming from Maine, it seemed that the water in the inner part of Malagash Bay was incredibly warm. It can reach over 28 deg C with not too much difficulty, and the warmest that Charles has recorded is 33 deg C. On the other hand, he's also measured 28 inches of ice in the dark of winter, so there are extremes to contend with.

Some of the relevant aspects of his business include the following:

- Bay Enterprises Ltd. (BEL) oysters take 4 to 5 years to reach market size.

- Two natural spawns occur, in June and early September. Sets can be a blessing and a curse, providing free spat, but overlaying market sized oysters too.

- Oysters beds are worked; to prune the shells, to break down clumps, and to reduce silt loads.

- He has worked hard to develop an escalator dredge for harvesting his oysters and hard clams, a dredge that he built in collaboration with a colleague at the Othniel Oyster Co., Poole, UK (http://www.othniel.com/) having visited Europe to learn about the industry there.

- There are few inshore uses to compete with, in terms of fisheries, but there is some recreational boating, and some shoreline development that has provided occasional opposition.

- There are few other shellfish growers in the immediate region, and he's the only one who makes all his income off of his farm.

- Quality is a top priority for him, and he sees benefit in holding to his price.

- Sharing information is something he sees a need for as growers talk with one another, both within his province and outside of it, including the E. Coast of the US. With so much of the seafood business being tied between the two countries, he sees no need to start a price war or drop quality to sell more product.

- Notata strain hard clams did not do well in his area; they tried to feed at such low temperatures, that the lack of food during that time caused them to lose too much energy. His local strain of hard clams has a better time of shutting off at 4-5 deg C, and can stay dormant during times of low food availability. He's had better luck with these since he's been doing his own selective breeding.

- Hatchery production of flat oysters mimics the natural set, so his hatchery was operational during my visit. He is working on an overwintering system that will provide some feed to his flat oysters during their first winter.

- Those who have visited or operated shellfish hatcheries will be surprised to visit the BEL hatchery. His place is a jumble of equipment, although maybe that's not the surprising part. However, he does only place a minimum of attention on things like maintaining precisely axenic cultures, or feed rationing. On the other hand, it works really well for him, and he's quite happy with the results. In addition, he's gotten some great students to work for him, and they've added a lot to the effectiveness of the hatchery operation.
 

On the night I arrived, he took a call that an old friend and colleague in the aquaculture business had died, so he took an early exit the next day, to travel to the funeral in Halifax. He was kind enough to let me help out a bit on the escalator dredge in his absence though, which was an education in itself. It moves a lot of water, and a lot of shells, and takes a skilled hand to operate efficiently.

Even abbreviated as it was, my visit with Charles and his family really was an enjoyable and educational one. He's a wealth of knowledge, with an "I can do it myself" approach to just about everything.

Incidentally, while I was there, I made a detour to the Jost Vineyard, which is just up the road a few miles from his farm. The wines are fantastic, which made the trip even better.

***This is the escalator dredge.  The main components include the spray head and conveyor belt; the engine to drive the water pump and hydraulics, and the outboard for propulsion.  Operating this device takes a watchful eye; while it can more a huge amount of shellfish in a short time, it's a bit finicky, and takes a combination of speed, direction and bottom contact to get into the sweet spot.