Don’t Forget Uncle Ernie’s Tangier Sound Oysters

Dear Bay Weekly:

I was excited to read the article on Maryland’s New Oyster by Margaret Tearman [No. 35: Aug. 27], as oyster aquaculture in Maryland is both a vocation and avocation for me. I was less than excited to learn that 25 percent of oyster aquaculture firms raising oysters for human consumption were not mentioned. You see, there are only four firms in the whole state that do this. One was left out.

The Tangier Sound Oyster Company, near the mouth of the Big Annemessex River in Marion Station, Somerset County, is the home of Uncle Ernie’s Tangier Sound Oysters. The water where these oysters are grown is about half the salinity of seawater and surrounded by salt marsh, providing the oysters with an excellent briny flavor with enough salt to enhance the flavor but not overwhelm it. Tangier Sound oysters have long been known as one of the best-flavored oysters available anywhere and now are readily available to everyone and anyone.

The mission of the Tangier Sound Oyster Company is to provide a sustainable supply of excellent Tangier Sound Oysters while contributing to the restoration of the wild oyster populations and the health of the Chesapeake Bay. We encourage everyone to leave the wild oysters in the Bay where they belong, while our adult oysters provide literally billions of disease-resistant oysters to help restore the wild population.

The Tangier Sound Oyster Company sells approximately 100,000 oysters per year. Many are sold around the country through a Maryland distributor and to restaurants on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and in Baltimore and Washington.

–Ernie Nichols, President: Tangier Sound Oyster Company • [email protected]

Thankful for Dick Wilson’s Book Review

Dear Bay Weekly:

I loved Dick Wilson’s review of my new book, Abraham’s Bay. He really seemed to get the book, which is of course wonderful for a writer. Many thanks. I hope your Thanksgiving was a pleasant one. The Bay Weekly review is one of the things I was thankful for!