54 JUNE 2019 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG for the development of a variety of shellfisheries. While the main crop is oysters, growers also raise kelp, hard-shell clams and mussels. Despite a rich shellfish heritage, the state was slow to embrace shellfish farming when the first oyster farmers tried to get leases in the late 1980s. When the legislature revised the lease laws a decade later, it unleased a wave of entrepreneurial spirit and ushered two decades of exponential growth. Now farmed oysters are the highest value aquaculture species harvested from state waters, supporting 73 farms and hundreds of jobs while landing $6.4 million in sustainably farmed oysters (RI CRMC 2019). Perry Raso, founder of the Matunuck Oyster Farm (MOF) and part of this early wave of shellfish growers, grew up wildharvesting shellfish and scuba diving for hard clams before starting a Introduction Over the past 20 years, the tiny state of Rhode Island, USA, has embraced oyster aquaculture. Perry Raso, a former shellfish digger, then oyster grower, and now restaurateur, has spent a career advocating for sustainable aquaculture and the advancement of his trade. The integration of different components of food systems (Pond-to-Plate, Farm-to-Table, and soon Hatchery-to-Nursery), led him to the development of a local sustainable food system, showcasing the economic potential of local food businesses. This article features that operation, its development and future direction. Rhode Island Shellfish Aquaculture The combination of Rhode Island’s climate, geology, and biological characteristics of its waterbodies makes it a natural habitat Vertical Integration of an Oyster Farm in a Broader Business Model Justine Sauvage and Perry Raso The Matunuck Oyster Bar’s raw bar offers a variety of Eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica grown in Rhode Island, alongside local hard clams Mercenaria mercenaria, shrimp and lobster. The combination of Rhode Island’s climate, geology, and biological characteristics of its waterbodies makes it a natural habitat for the development of a variety of shellfisheries. While the main crop is oysters, growers also raise kelp, hard-shell clams and mussels. Despite a rich shellfish heritage, the state was slow to embrace shellfish farming when the first oyster farmers tried to get leases in the late 1980s.
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