Know Your (Oyster) Farmer: Emil Bender of Pocomo Meadow Oysters

Story by Virginia Bullington, Photography by Dan Lemaitre. In partnership with Flotsam Magazine.

Ask anyone on Nantucket and they will tell you that the oysters grown in the harbor are the most delicious in the world. Is this hyperbolic hometown bias or are Nantucket oysters truly exceptional? While working as a private chef, longtime island resident Steve Bender would ship seafood from New England to a high end French restaurant in San Francisco. 

“People from all over the world would freak out about the oysters, saying they had never had a better tasting oyster,” said Emil Bender, Steve Bender’s son and owner of Pocomo Meadow Oyster Farm. 

From then on Steve always had it in the back of his head that the island was a special place to grow oysters. When the exact lease he had imported the oysters from went vacant, Steve snapped it up and started his own farm, known to many now as Pocomo Meadow Oyster Farm. Over the years, he partnered with his son, Emil, who began helping out on the farm in high school. 

“I kept doing it through college and I enjoyed working on the water,” said Emil Bender. “Pretty much every summer I would sink about half of the money I made back into the farm, buying seed. By the time I graduated college I had invested so much money that I wanted to come back and partner with my dad and see how far I could take it.”

Aside from wanting to see a return on his investments, Emil Bender was motivated to take on more responsibility in the oyster business by his love of Nantucket and the outdoors.

“I majored in environmental science in college and have a huge passion for the environment,” said Emil Bender. “I figured that this is a pretty cool thing, to grow a sustainable food source, so why not try it? And I enjoy being outside, it’s basically the best office in the world.”

During the first few years, the Benders only utilized a fraction of their lease, but Emil Bender had visions of expanding their use of the space and the business as a whole.

“We were doing it on a smaller scale, and there was so much space on the lease that we weren’t using, so I wanted to see what we could do,” said Emil Bender. 

The timing was right, as oysters became a more sought after food in the 2010’s just as Emil Bender began his raw bar business to complement the farm.

“It definitely has become such a fad in the past ten years, so I think we got lucky with the timing of starting the business,” said Bender. “Because in the past oysters haven’t been as popular.” 

Popularity is certainly not an issue for Pocomo Meadow these days. During the height of the summer, Emil Bender will harvest 25,000-30,000 oysters in a given week to distribute across the island and up to Boston. 

“Even in the past two or three years we have probably doubled in the amount we have harvested. It’s hard to keep up with it,” said Bender. “Last year we sold the most we ever have, and this year I am already concerned about meeting demand.”

Other challenges that Emil Bender faces in the oyster business are pests like boring sponge which make oyster shells brittle and unsaleable, as well as the increase of algae in the harbor due to poor water quality.

“Keeping up with cleaning gear is such a nightmare because there is more algae in the harbor now than there has been in the last three years. I have seen the growth on the bags and the lines explode,” said Emil Bender. “This is partially due to the water staying warmer into the fall, and warming up quicker in the spring. In the summer it is very warm which promotes even more algae growth, which isn’t detrimental to oysters but if we get a red tide it could wipe us out for a season.”

In order to improve the water quality of the harbor, Emil Bender believes a multi-pronged approach is necessary, including regulating recreational vessels in the harbor, limiting fertilizer use, examining sewer drainage, and other considerations. 

“It’s such a tightrope because if you are banning fertilizer you are harming someone else’s business, so that is why the oyster restoration reef and seeding the harbor with scallops are great and hopefully those efforts will be expanded and will make a difference,” said Emil Bender.