Shellfish

We sell sea shells from the sea shore, the shells that we sell are sea shells for sure.

Along with oysters that we grow here in East Mersea, hard shell clams grow on the sections of the river that we don’t manage as oyster beds. They grow with the wild oysters alongside other shells that we don’t harvest like mussels, cockles and winkles. We buy these in from other fisheries where they grow in large quantities or are farmed.

We harvest hard shell clams from our own river and also source them from Dorset and other fisheries. Our scallops come from Scotland and are the sweetest we have found.

Rope grown mussels from the crystal clear waters in Shetland, hard shell clams from our own rivers and creeks, the sweetest scallops from Scotland and smoked salmon and mackerel from an ancient smokehouse in Suffolk.

Hints & Tips

What to do with hard shell clams?

Most of our hard shell clams go to France and Spain, where they are enjoyed raw, eaten just as you would an oyster. They are also cooked like mussels or steamed, stuffed and baked or made into clam chowder in New England. Take a look below for some more ideas of what to do with our hard shell clams.

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How to open oysters

If you were to ask each person at the Fishery how to open an oyster, you would get a different answer each time. The best way is just to try it and keep practicing, it gets easier each time. We have compiled some hints and tips on how we open oysters to give you a head start.

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Looking for inspiration?

If you aren't too confident with seafood and don't always know what to cook, we have compiled a selection of recipes that we all like to cook at the Fishery. There are simple recipes and more complicated ones for when you want to test your culinary skills. Take a look below to see if anything takes your fancy.

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