WHAT IS THE SHELLFISH GROUP?
Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group is a non-profit organization working to restore shellfish resources for the well-being of the entire island community since 1976.
We operate facilities on Chappaquiddick, in Tisbury and in Oak Bluffs. In 2024, we grew 23 million quahogs, bay scallops, and oyster seed for the Shellfish Departments of our six island towns. An additional 1.5 million oyster singles were grown and distributed to five island oyster farmers to help combat a regional seed shortage. We also supplement wild populations by releasing millions of scallop eggs & larvae, and millions more oyster eggs.
We turn your shells back into oyster habitat!
Pictured: Oyster spat growing on recycled shell that will be planted out into the island’s Great Ponds.
Our main projects:
Annual shellfish seed production of three native island species (quahog, American oyster, bay scallop) for the island
Shell recycling from restaurants and homes for oyster habitat restoration
Oyster population and habitat restoration in The Great Ponds
Eelgrass restoration for it’s important ecosystem services and for bay scallop habitat
Education within island schools and lifelong learning for residents & visitors of all ages.
“The thing that I found cool about learning how to draw oysters was how much their shells resembled tree rings. I don’t know how long each ring takes to make, but when I put the oyster design for the sticker together, I wanted to show how the shell grows out from where the oyster started. Oysters shells look pretty complex and gnarly but when I looked at how the visible part of the initial shell kind of guided the direction that subsequent layers went, it all kind of came together.”
-Nanci Worthington, Illustrator
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