Mainebiz

V O L . X X X I N O. X I I J U N E 2 , 2 0 2 5 12 A G R I C U LT U R E / A Q UA C U LT U R E F O C U S Life of brine Similar to above-ground furry creatures, oysters doze through the winter in their undersea dwellings. Hiberna- tion ends — and the heavy lifting for Maine's 150-odd oyster growers begins — in the spring when water tem- peratures warm back up toward 40 degrees Fahrenheit. In these photos, Alicia and Amy Gaiero, two-thirds of the Nauti Sisters Sea Farm team, pay an early-season visit to one of their two oyster-growing sites, between Littlejohn and Cousins islands in Casco Bay. (The third sister, Chelsea, was away studying chemical engineer- ing and oceanography at Northeastern University.) Oyster cages are pulled out and ready-to-eat speci- mens are harvested, then the cages are flipped and dried before returning to the water. Nauti Sisters ranks as a small-scale operator, producing around 100,000 oysters a year. (The state's giants turn out upwards of 1 million.) Alicia got into the industry after an internship with the New England Ocean Cluster. "I thought I was just going to work on a farm and the next thing I knew I was starting my own," she says. Seasonal employees — four last year — pitch in during the summer months. The Nautis make their business even nicer by offering boat tours, oyster tastings and merch. Slurpin' USA On the water with Maine's oyster growers P h o t o s a n d t e x t b y J i m N e u g e r Alicia and Amy Gaiero load a mesh bag to return oysters to the water. Amy Gaiero does some onboard sorting. A Nauti Sisters oyster fresh out of Casco Bay. The Nauti Sisters' floating bag farm on a placid April morning.

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