Dining & Learning on the Dock

Tessa Getchis and Mike Gilman of CT Sea Grant

Stonington Fresh hosted CT Sea Grant, Cornell Marine Extension and Stonington Oyster Farms during Blessing of the Fleet weekend July 29 and 30.

Visitors to the Stonington Fresh tent discovered fresh oysters, sautéed Monkfish and a wide education menu about Connecticut aquaculture.

Tessa Getchis, Nancy Balcom and Mike Gilman of CT Sea Grant presided over an extensive array of information material for two days, introducing visitors to the history, range and importance of our oyster and shellfisheries, and their restorative effects on coastal ecosystems.

Beth Gomes, Kris Simonds and the crew from Stonington Farms Shellfish offered up their fine local product to the crowd, a delicious reminder that no matter how important oysters are to the environment, they sure taste great.

Richard Guteres of Cornell's Cooperative Extension Marine Program prepared Monkfish nuggets, freshly sautéed in butter with lemon and capers, while extolling the virtues of this highly sustainable, delicious but underutilized species. Stonington fishermen have worked with the program answering survey questions about marketing Monkfish, and the public is invited to join them with a special consumer survey.