Skagit Shellfish

02/25/2026

We were so pleased to take part in the Eat Local First Sustainable Connections trade meeting in Bellingham. Our oysters were featured along with other amazing local foods.

This organization, Eat Local First, is doing amazing work to promote local food systems and connect farmers like us with local businesses and consumers. Thank you!

02/04/2026

Our oysters waiting to go up the conveyor belt to the cleaning and sorting machine!

We add a human-powdered inspection and cleaning on top of this machine process, to make doubly sure that the Skagit Shellfish oysters you receive are pristine and delicious!

01/29/2026

REPOST ❤️ 🍻MERIS Happy Hour at
Last week, the Bellingham SeaFeast team joined MERIS for Happy Hour at Drayton Harbor Oysters, enjoying fresh local oysters with and connecting.

MERIS is a cooperative institute dedicated to sustaining ecosystem integrity in the Salish Sea while creating scalable solutions that grow the blue economy, develop a skilled workforce, and foster thriving coastal communities.

Thank you to MERIS and Drayton Harbor Oysters for hosting a fun gathering!

01/23/2026

Love sharing our oysters with our friends at Bellingham SeaFeast and Drayton Harbor Oyster Company!

01/07/2026

We’ve had a challenging few weeks ❤️ In early December, the Skagit River rose to a record 37.7 feet in Mount Vernon (40 feet upstream in Concrete!), causing unprecedented flooding that devastated local homes and farms and impacted tens of thousands of people.

The flood damaged our oyster lines and the excess water in Skagit River forced us to close our Skagit Bay farm for 10 days. Lost sales and reduced hours for our incredible team made this a tough stretch. Some of our smaller seed may not have survived, but we’re taking it one step at a time, working hard to rebuild and recover.
Now we’re back online and the oysters are looking great! We are hopeful for 2026.

We are so grateful for your patience, understanding, and support while we navigated this unexpected setback. Every order, every message, every ounce of encouragement has reminded us why we do what we do. Thank you for sticking with us. We can’t wait to share our oysters with you again!

12/12/2025

Many of you know of — or are impacted by — the immense flooding currently happening in Skagit County, Washington, where we operate. As of right now, our employees and families are safe, and that is our top priority.

We will not be harvesting oysters for the foreseeable future (at least 1 week, depends on water quality testing and river levels). We will keep our wholesale customers updated directly. We appreciate your understanding during these unprecedented times.

The flooding of this and other rivers in the area due to excessive rainfall has already resulted in evacuation orders for over 100,000 people. The Skagit River, which empties directly into Skagit Bay where we farm, is at 35 feet currently, and expected to continue rising to record highs.

We appreciate the community and government efforts to keep everyone safe. Our hearts are with our neighbors struggling to cope with the immeasurable impacts caused by these floods.

12/11/2025

11/29/2025

Thank you, Risa Schnebly & Cascadia Daily News for this article about our Olympia oysters and the restoration efforts in our area!

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When the Puget Sound Restoration Fund approached [Francisco Santelices, the manager of Skagit Shellfish] in 2022, asking him if he’d be interested in growing Olympia oysters, he jumped at the opportunity.

“We understand that this is a long-term project that requires a lot of effort, but it’s very important to help and contribute to rescue one species that disappeared from our bay,” Santelices said.

Skagit Shellfish’s population steadily grew for the first two years before parts of Skagit Bay froze over in 2024, wiping out a solid portion of the Olys. Now, Santelices estimates the company has about 66,000 Olympia oysters — a modest number, but one that Santelices remains hopeful about.

The end goal is not far from what Fidalgo Bay looks like now: “The idea is to make them grow and thrive,” Santelices said, “to create a little Olympia oyster area that they can sustain themselves in Skagit Bay.”

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https://www.cascadiadaily.com/2025/jul/31/a-decades-long-quest-to-restore-washingtons-only-native-oyster-sees-success/

11/19/2025

Try our tumbled Pacific oysters, fresh from Skagit Bay, WA!

Small oysters: “Oishi”
Medium oysters: “Ichiban”
Large oysters: “Tubby”

11/15/2025

🏆🌊 What a night at Oyster New Year! Our Olympia oyster was honored with Most Beautiful Oyster at this wonderful fundraiser celebration at Elliott's Oyster House - Seattle! ✨💙

It all started with a tiny “seed” from the Puget Sound Restoration Fund (PSRF). In 2022, we placed it in our FLUPSY—a floating oyster nursery that keeps young oysters safe, healthy, and growing strong before heading to the bay. By 2023, this little oyster was thriving in Skagit Bay, soaking up the local waters. Fast forward to Oyster New Year, and it dazzled the judges—and took home the win!

Oyster New Year isn’t just about awards—it’s a celebration of shellfish, community, and the incredible ecosystems of Puget Sound. Every ticket and toast helps PSRF restore Olympia oyster populations, protect habitat, and strengthen our local waters for generations to come. 🌿🦪 It was amazing to see so many people enjoying local oysters while supporting restoration work and celebrating Elliott’s 50th anniversary. 🦪🥂

We were proud to be among so many incredible oyster farms from across the region, all coming together to celebrate sustainable aquaculture. We donated 50 dz Oishi + 50 dz Ichiban (our tumbled Pacific oysters) to share with the crowd, letting everyone taste the flavors of Skagit Bay. The night was filled with oysters, laughter, and a shared love for our waters—and we couldn’t be happier to be part of it.

A huge thanks to Elliott’s Oyster House for hosting, PSRF for the seed and restoration work, and everyone who came out to celebrate oysters, community, and the incredible Puget Sound! 💛

03/20/2025

Our “Oishi”, “Ichiban”, and “Tubby” oysters (shown here) are different sizes of our tide-tumbled Pacific oyster grown in Skagit Bay by Camano Island in north Puget Sound, WA.

These delicious oysters have a deep, rounded cup because they’re grown suspended by bags instead of sitting on the beach.

As the tide moves the bags around, the oysters tumble into each other and “prune” each others shells. Do that over a year or more, and you’ll get a fat oyster inside a very smooth shell!

Shipped to home across the USA by our friends . Wholesale inquiries can contact [email protected]

www.skagitshellfish.com