The Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group is undertaking a years-long project to determine why and how quahaugs develop purple on the inside of their shells — and why that purple may be disappearing from the Vineyard’s waters.
Over its now 50-year history, the Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group has spawned billions of shellfish, growing them into seed to keep the industry and ponds thriving.
The Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group, Island Grown Initiative and Net Result received a combined $714,000 to address food security and resiliency on the Island.
Students from the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School and the regional high school gathered at the Vineyard Haven Lagoon landing Tuesday morning as part of a multi-faceted aquaculture education initiative.
Oysters may be the superstars of the shellfish stage, but all shellfish (clams, scallops, mussels, etc.) keep our ponds and bodies well balanced and poised for success.
In a recent study, Vineyard bay scallops proved resilient to a parasite that decimated scallops off New York. Researchers say that gives hope for the future of the species.
A new chapter in Island environmental restoration is blooming in a laboratory on the shores of the Lagoon. There, in a cool tub of water at a Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group Hatchery, a small artificial meadow of eelgrass is beginning to flower.
It is a record year for baby shellfish growing up at the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group, but the 21-year-old institution is facing severe financial troubles, its worst in years.
There is another contradiction. The hatchery, highly regarded in the national aquaculture industry, the recipient of federal grants and accolades from the science community, is dealing with an image problem before Island town selectmen and financial committees. Town officials like the work but they don’t want to help it financially.
Near Chappaquiddick Point lies an unassuming summer house with a big mission. Over the last summer, the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group has converted the two-bedroom home into a shellfish nursery complete with swirling pools of saltwater and millions of baby bay scallops. And although the project is not yet complete, the hatchery has already helped raise millions of tiny shellfish for distribution to the Island’s coastal ponds.
If you ate a raw oyster last summer on the Vineyard, chances are it came from either Canada or Long Island. But for oyster lovers, the summer ahead offers another treat: the Vineyard oyster.
