Nov 13, 2018
On episode 45 we welcome Bill Mook, founder and CEO of Mook Sea
farm. Mook Sea Farm is an oyster farm founded in 1985 on the
Damariscotta River in Midcoast Maine. They rear the American oyster
from egg to adult size. Currently, the hatchery produces 120
million juvenile oysters (seed) annually for sale to other oyster
growers throughout the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, and for our
own cultivation of Wiley Point and Pemaquid Point oysters for the
half-shell market.
They’re surely good eating, but oysters represent so much good to
their surrounds, the shared environments, and the communities they
support. You see, each adult oyster filters 50 gallons of water
daily, they restore keystone marine ecosystems, and they build
protective reefs around susceptible coastal communities –
protecting us from storm surge and severe weather events. In this
45 minute discussion Bill Mook goes into details describing why
Oysters are so important to the stability of seas, and to our
planet.
As you’ll hear, Mook has implemented bleeding-edge R&D in his
hatchery that is second to none. Innovations include development of
methods for overwintering seed out of the water; a tidal powered
nursery system; a vessel and gear for mechanizing the use of
OysterGro™ cages; and a unique, energy efficient, and highly
productive system for growing the micro-algae we use for food in
the hatchery. Effectively his approach to “brew” feed for
Oysters, or for other animals for that matter, sets to be
revolutionary.
Joining the conversation as a first time co-host is Scott Soares.
Soares is former commissioner of Massachusetts Agriculture,
and served as the Director of USDA Rural Development for
Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island for the Obama
administration. Scott has 15 years of fishery and aquaculture
experience prior to that – including early in his career serving as
the 1st Massachusetts coordinator of aquaculture for nearly a
decade.
If you care about the health of the Oceans, the solidarity of
working waterfronts & local economies, the sanctity of place, or if
you just like to eat great seafood – have a listen to what this
agent of change is doing in the clean cold waters of Maine.