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Oyster Farm

Students looking at Oysters

An Environmental Collaboration

The Tabor Academy Oyster Farm, a collaborative project with the Town of Marion, was established  to complement and build on Tabor’s  marine science program and  to help support the town’s  shellfish propagation program by raising oysters to replenish shellfish beds.

Tabor students will benefit from the hands-on fieldwork and research opportunities that the Oyster Farm provides, while Sippican Harbor will benefit from the improved water quality provided by the oysters. As oysters are filter organisms, they have a natural ability to keep the water clean, thereby helping to promote the growth of underwater grasses that allow aquatic species, such as fish and crabs, to live and thrive.

The Oyster Farm will  start a new crop of oyster seed each June, seeding the harbor with the previous year’s mature stock.

Creating fantastic opportunities for real-world science

Importantly, the farm has served in the past as the focus for independent study and senior projects ranging from studying the business of aquaculture to how oysters may be affected by rising ocean temperatures. In 2016, we successfully performed spawning experiments under controlled lab conditions, and set spat on shell. The effort was aided by our association with Roger Williams University, whose aquaculture experts helped set us up for success.

Other schools have horticulture, our School by the Sea has aquaculture.