The Struggles of Sustainability:
The Story of An Oyster Farmer
Benefitting The Chesapeake Bay
imes are changing and with one body of water on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in particular, the steady rise
of many new emerging oyster farmers are helping to create a movement returning the Chesapeake Bay to its former glory. From what was a booming industry in the 1800’s-early 1900's, the Chesapeake Bay has welcomed these returning passionate farmers, but only with some newfound resistance.
“You honestly might have to kill your first crop of oysters in order to learn how to listen to them. Typically they’ll have something to tell you.” That may not be the consequence for all wishing to become an oyster farmer down at the Bay, but that was the case for Scott Budden, founder of Orchard Point Oyster Co. LLC. Budden sits down with SEVENSEAS and fills us in on what it takes to become an oyster farmer, his struggles throughout the journey and how others can join wishing to help revive the Chesapeake Bay with these mouth-watering bivalves.
As a graduate of the Bucknell with a major focused primarily on economics, Budden never studied environmental science nor expected that oyster farming would be his intended career path. “I took a Food & Environment course in my senior year of college, and the course went into great detail regarding humans and their food. The topic of fish farming came up throughout the semester and I remember being very interested in sustainable seafood.” After college and completing seven years of consulting within Washington, D.C.’s economic scene, Budden, unfulfilled, began searching into different avenues of work.
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Writing by Michal Matejczuk
Photography by Andy DelGiudice
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