Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I N O. X X I I I O C T O B E R 1 8 , 2 0 2 1 14 M I D C O A S T / D OW N E A S T M A I N E F O C U S love oysters. For a tourist, they can see multiple things in one place." e pioneers in the Damariscotta River area, such as Mook and Scully, who started oyster farms in the 1980s, proved the skeptics wrong who say it was too cold in midcoast Maine to grow oysters. Mook rears Eastern oysters from egg to adult size, and his hatchery produces more than 120 million juve- nile oysters, or seeds, a year for sale to other oyster growers from North Carolina to Maine. "e businesses that have been here for years, who were pioneers along with me 30 to 35 years ago, they're not going away. We've all seen enough success financially to show that it's a proven industry," Scully says. Oyster farm has grown into enough of an industry that it has served as a draw of young talent to the region. "e thing I find gratifying is all the young people who have moved to Maine to grow oysters. ey are passionate, well-educated, hard work- ing. To be an oyster farmer, you are an environmentalist. You can't do it without a healthy environment," Mook says. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Never underestimate the power of 820 knowledgable employees. Auburn • Bangor • Bar Harbor • Belfast • Belgrade Blue Hill • Boothbay Harbor • Brunswick • Bucksport Calais • Camden • Cherryfield • Damariscotta Ellsworth • Fairfield • Farmington • Greenville Machias • Portland • Rockland • Skowhegan In 1953, Skip Hammond started Hammond Lumber Company with just two employees. Skip's philosophy from the start was to "saw straight, talk straight, and do more for his customer than the guy down the road." We've since grown into Maine's largest independent lumber and building material retailer—with 21 locations around the state and 820 employees, each skilled at what they do and dedicated to Skip's customer service philosophy. If you need building materials, design advice, or project assistance, even even if you just have a question, Hammond Lumber Company has the dependable service you can build on. Auburn • Bangor • Bar Harbor • Belfast • Belgrade • Blue Hill • Boothbay Harbor • Brunswick • Bucksport • Calais • Camden Cherryfield • Damariscotta • Ellsworth • Fairfield • Farmington • Greenville • Machias • Portland • Rockland • Skowhegan HammondLumber.com Bill Mook, founder of Mook Sea Farm, says oysters have a natural habitat on the Damariscotta River and a history of being harvested that goes back millennia. P H O T O / F R E D F I E L D

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