06/16/2026
Starfish, mussels, and tunicates: the unholy trinity of oyster farming. 🤬
Starfish pry open and eat oysters, mussels move in like unwanted tenants (and will also kill the oysters and adds a ton of weight to the gear), and tunicates cover everything in a slimy layer that adds weight, reduces water flow, and turns every piece of gear into a science experiment 🙄. Between the three of them, they’re the bane of our existence—and a daily reminder that oyster farming is basically underwater pest management with occasional oyster harvesting. Our area is in a really bad closure right now which is giving us TONS of time to work on moving the starfish and mussels out and swapping out the bags that the tunicates are covering (which will then be pressure washed). Per DMR on Friday: “Late this week DMR processed several shellfish samples that showed elevated levels of the naturally occurring marine biotoxin that causes Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP). These results were consistent with observed increases in the phytoplankton species that causes PSP. Increasing toxicity levels were recorded from Cape Elizabeth to Cutler.”
The levels around Islesboro are so bad that I even got a call about this, and the scientist said they were personally calling all license holders in the growing area.
Fun times.
