We, the Oyster Bay Baymen, are a group of independent shell fishermen living and working in Oyster Bay Harbor on Long Island, NY. We make our living working the waters of North Oyster Bay & Cold Spring Harbors, and the Long Island Sound. We harvest hard clams, steamer clams, and oysters by hand raking in waters from 5 to 60 feet deep. We work year-round, regardless of weather, to supply our buyers with the freshest shellfish possible.
In 1986 we formed the North Oyster Bay Baymens Association, also known as NOBBA. As an association we work together to keep our harbors safe and clean. We grow seed clams and oysters in our floating “flubsies” to help replenish the areas that we have worked throughout the year. Both as a group, and individually, we take care of our harbor. Every year for the last twenty-five years we sponsor our own harbor clean-ups. Each year we remove thousands of pounds of debris from our harbor.
The Oyster Bay Baymen are a diverse group of residents made up of school teachers, firemen, police, and full time fishermen. We are very active in our community. We support a variety of local charities including the Boys and Girls Club of America, the Matthew Fetzer Foundation, and Wounded Warriors. Every year we work a variety of festivals and fundraisers to help support our seed programs and expenses..
NOBBA is 31 years old now, but still has a long way to go in order to achieve our goals. We hope you join us on this journey to preserve Oyster Bay Harbor for future generations to enjoy.
Hi,
My name is Karina Gerry I’m a journalism major at Stony Brook University and I’m doing a video story about the failed scallop harvest this year and what it means for people on Long Island. I was hoping to interview someone from your organization about this if at all possible!
Thank you,
Karina
Karina
The failed scallop crop on Eastern Long Island was a water quality issue. There was a very promising “set” of “bug” scallops first seen the fall of 2018, then again in the spring of 2019. Due to increasing water temperatures, run off, sewage treatment plants dumping into the bays, creeks, etc and also the resulting algae blooms the bugs died off leaving a vast wasteland from the mouth of the Peconic River to Montauk. This will continue to happen until fertilizers, sewage and other contaminants are not allowed in our waters. Perhaps the most devastating ingredient in this entire toxic mess is the spraying and use of Permethrin on lawns and woods. This ends up in our waterways, where in just parts per billion it is deadly to the very top of the aquatic food chain. the one cell organisms that feed the baitfish,, shellfish, etc.
It is a bleak picture, getting bleaker each year ….Time for commercial and recreational anglers to come together and solve this problem as well as to influence government bodies so that more effective and realistic management plans are put in place. Billy Joel as well as myself have long been proponents of this. If not the rest of the bays will die.
Gents,
A buddy of mine and I are starting a market and take out restaurant. We’re licensed shippers and dealers with DEC. I would like to know who to talk with about buying clams on a regular basis.
Billy Joel’s song about the baymen is well known. I am a local songwriter who actually raked on the south shore. I have recently completed a song about my experiences. I would love to share it with you. How can I get you a recorded version?
Regards
Steve Robinson
My wife and I are new vendors at farmers markets through Nassau and Suffolk counties. We’re looking into expanding our offerings to bi-valves if I’m using the term correctly for oysters and clams. Is there someone I could connect with?
Our contact info: Vester Rivera, 516-567-3584