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Jupiter Points Oysters

Jupiter Point oysters are farm-raised off of Noank, Connecticut. To be more specific…The Jupiter Points are grown within the shelter provided by Fishers Island, which is located right where the Fishers Island, Long Island, and Block Island Sounds converge.  So what’s that mean to us?  It means that a mind-boggling amount of water is constantly flowing into this region, providing all of its denizens with a more or less ceaseless supply of nutrients.  It also means that these waters are (relatively) warm…And facilitate a (comparatively) quick grow-out for oysters.  If this all sounds pretty idyllic, it’s because it is.  But let’s start at the beginning…The oysters which are destined to bear the Jupiter Point moniker are started (as so many premium oysters are) in a hatchery.  Here, they are pampered and cared for, not entirely unlike the residents of a maternity ward.  That is to say, there is a lot of doting and pampering and fussing over these incredibly delicate little oysters.  Again like the maternity ward…The guest’s stay here is not a long one.  Once the oysters reach roughly two millimeters in size, they are transferred to a series of upwellers located in the intertidal zones of the Fishers Island coast.  What is an upweller?  I’m glad you asked!  An upweller is usually comprised of a number of “silos” (think five-gallon buckets) mounted within a float of some sort.  Very often, marina floats house upwellers…At some point, you may have very well been standing right on top of an upweller, and not even know it.  These silos hold the tiny oysters, which are contained in a very fine mesh to keep them corralled.  Now here comes the really cool part…The phytoplankton rich waters are pumped up (like Hans and Franz) from the surrounding depths, thereby providing a constant food source for the ravenous juvenile oysters.  The voracious little oysters couldn’t be in a better place.  The warm water encourages rapid growth, and the ceaseless supply of nutrients encourages…Well…Rapid growth.  The Jupiter Points graze in the warm, protected confines of the upweller for roughly eight to nine months (by which time they will have reached the more-manageable size of roughly 15 millimeters) before they are transferred to floating bags moored in Fishers Island Sound. Over the next six months, the oysters continue to grow in the warmth of the sun (a nod to Brian Wilson), and are once again under the constant scrutiny of the farmers.  During this time the oysters are culled, chipped, manicured, etc. in an effort to promote greater cup-definition/depth, and minimize mass.  By chipping off new growth (oysters grow outward in sort of a concentric fashion), the overall length of the oyster may be kept in check, while the cup becomes more pronounced.  When the Jupiter Points have attained the desired size and shape, they are moved from the top water culture to the hard-packed sand which dominates the topography of Fishers Island Sound.  For 12 months, the Jupiter Points are left on the bottom of the sound to finish their grow out before being transferred (one last time) to the final step of the process…The finishing.  The Jupiter Points are moved to cages which are held in a mid-water suspension where the currents roll and tumble the oysters.  For two to six weeks, gentle abrasion removes any bio-fouling (barnacles, limpets, seaweed, etc) that may have been clinging to the oyster’s shell, and the oysters are allowed to “brine-up” in the wash of the ocean currents.  The Jupiter Point’s salinity hovers right around a very respectable 32 parts per thousand.  Just to put things in perspective…The average salinity of seawater is 35 ppt.  Jupiter Point oysters are available 12 months a year, and are available in 100 count units. 

Please email info@jpshellfish.com or call 207-439-6018 for more information on this and or any other J.P.'s Shellfish product or service.