Oystermen overcome pollution, pandemic to thrive in LI Sound

By PAT EATON-ROBB
Associated Press

NORWALK, Conn. (AP) — Gov. Ned Lamont calls Connecticut’s shoreline the Napa Valley of Oysters. A quarter century after a parasite nearly killed off the state’s oyster industry, it is thriving again. Government and private efforts to clean up Long Island Sound, develop disease resistant shellfish and find new markets, especially during the coronavirus pandemic have helped aquaculture become a $30 million a year business in Connecticut, with oyster’s accounting for about $15.9 million of that. The state has helped the oystermen survive the pandemic, providing tax breaks and hiring them to help rehabilitate Connecticut’s 17,500 acres of natural beds.