We’re looking forward to the famous Wellfleet OysterFest this weekend! Not only do we get to indulge in the region’s finest bivalve delicacies, hear some great music, and cheer on the Shuck-Off contestants, we’ll be hosting a screening of WATER FOR OYSTERS to kick off both days of the festival.
This short documentary in our Saving Paradise film series with the APCC takes a look at the potential for oyster aquaculture to clean up Cape Cod’s troubled estuaries. Because oysters graze on algae that thrive in nitrogen-rich waters, aquaculture is being hailed as a win-win solution for the Cape’s wastewater problems. Not only do shellfish provide a local source of protein-rich food, aquaculture is now a $5 million industry on Cape Cod, and set to grow even bigger. But, the documentary asks, is it wise to put all our oysters in one basket?
Shot in verité style, WATER FOR OYSTERS takes a personal approach to a sometimes confusing subject, profiling aquaculture farmers in Mashpee and Wellfleet and interweaving perspectives from Mashpee Wampanoag tribe members and scientists. With a behind-the-scenes view of life on an oyster farm, input from experts at the Marine Biological Laboratory and Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, and a cool oyster water filtration timelapse, the video provides a comprehensive perspective on a little-known, yet promising, adaptive wastewater management strategy.
We’re super excited to join a panel discussion after the film with Samuel Janis, director of New York City’s Billion Oyster Project, Curt Felix, a member of Wellfleet’s Comprehensive Wastewater Planning Committee, and a representative of the Cape Cod Water Protection Collaborative.
So if you’re going to the OysterFest, please come by the Wellfleet Public Library (55 Main Street) at 10:30 AM on Saturday or Sunday. Knowing what oysters do for water quality (and community) will make them taste all the sweeter!
