logo
  • Nonprofit News
  • Management
    • Boards and Governance
    • Communication
      • Framing & Narratives
    • Ethics
    • Financial Management
    • Fund Development
    • Leadership
    • Technology
  • Philanthropy
    • Corporate Social Responsibility
    • Donor-Advised Funds
    • Foundations
    • Impact Investing
    • Research
    • Workplace Giving
  • Policy
    • Education
    • Healthcare
    • Housing
    • Government
    • Taxes
  • Economic Justice
    • Economy Remix
    • Economy Webinars
    • Community Benefits
    • Economic Democracy
    • Environmental Justice
    • Fair Finance
    • Housing Rights
    • Land Justice
    • Poor People’s Rights
    • Tax Fairness
  • Racial Equity
  • Social Movements
    • Community Development
    • Community Organizing
    • Culture Change
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Gender Equality
    • Immigrant Rights
    • Indigenous Rights
    • Labor
    • LGBTQ+
    • Racial Justice
    • Youth Activism
  • About Us
  • Log in
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Webinars
    • Leading Edge Membership
    • Sponsored Webinars
    • Economic Justice
  • Tiny Spark Podcast
  • Magazine
    • Magazine
    • Leading Edge Membership
Donate
Management, Massachusetts

The Best Laid Nonprofit Plans, or, “Yes, We Have No Oysters”

Anna Berry
October 17, 2016
Share3
Tweet
Share
Email
3 Shares

oysters

October 13, 2016; Boston Globe

A Cape Cod nonprofit tried to turn lemons into lemonade after a norovirus outbreak threatened its annual festival in celebration and support of the local shellfish industry. Wellfleet is famous for its oysters and its OysterFest, held since 2001 and now run by a nonprofit called Wellfleet SPAT (Shellfish Promotion and Tasting, Inc.). OysterFest draws thousands of visitors to indulge in raw oysters and cheer for the region’s fastest shuckers.

But this year, just days before the festival was set to kick off, the group announced that raw oysters would no longer be served, much to the community’s chagrin, according to a press release from Wellfleet SPAT.

Due to a public health concern with shellfish in Wellfleet’s harbor—and in response to a closure issued by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries—SPAT has decided not to serve any raw shellfish at this year’s festival.

“Public safety has always been our top priority, whether it be in crowd management or health issues,” says Wellfleet SPAT board member Alex Hay, who is also an owner of Wellfleet Shellfish Company, which chills and certifies all raw shellfish served at the festival following state regulations. “Not only is public safety our main concern, it is also in the seafood industry’s best interest, the town’s best interest and the Wellfleet brand’s best interest.”

According to the Boston Globe, the state of Massachusetts closed all shellfish beds in Wellfleet on October 13th because of an outbreak of suspected norovirus that’s believed to be linked to consumption of shellfish from that area. Public health officials had received reports of approximately 75 suspect cases of norovirus, primarily associated with eating raw shellfish at weddings and restaurants in the Outer Cape Cod area. The closure was a blow to both wild shellfishermen and those who grow oysters, mussels, and clams in protected boxes and bags on the bottom of the region’s bays and estuaries, according to the Cape Cod Times.

Fall is the time oyster lovers in particular wait for all year, when oysters are putting on weight and reaching optimal market size. Plus, growers like to sell off their stock so they have room to plant new seed shellfish for the next year’s harvest.

Oysters are often touted as an ocean-friendly seafood choice because they can be farmed with low environmental impact, in contrast to the controversy behind other “sustainable” branded fisheries that aren’t always what they seem.

The same week as the Wellfleet public health advisory, the organizers of OysterFest encouraged guests to enjoy other local seafood—including fish tacos and steamed mussels—and remarketed the event as a chance to stand in solidarity with the Cape Cod shellfishing community. The Shuck Off contest was held using oysters from other towns.

“This is just one year of the ’Fest, and what we care about most is running a safe and fun festival,” said Michele Insley, SPAT’s executive director. “We also value the long-term sustainability of our town’s second highest revenue producer, shellfishing, so we are erring on the side of caution.”—Anna Berry

Share3
Tweet
Share
Email
3 Shares

About The Author
Anna Berry

Anna Berry is a writer and editor with more than a decade of experience in nonprofit management, fundraising, and communications. She has covered international civil society, human rights, and the media, among other topics, for Nonprofit Quarterly since 2016.

Related
A “Feud” between Two Nonprofits Goes Public in Boston
By Marian Conway
October 10, 2019
Harvard Joins MIT in Apologizing for Accepting Epstein Grants
By Martin Levine
September 16, 2019
Rooftop Solar Bills Advance in Massachusetts
By Karen Kahn
August 9, 2019
Barr Foundation Funds Boston Globe’s Educational Reporting
By Danielle Holly
June 24, 2019
A Pilot Retirement Program for Small Nonprofits Seeks Expansion
By Ruth McCambridge
May 2, 2019
Legal Advocates Speak Out about the Dangers of Weaponizing the Census
By Ruth McCambridge
May 1, 2019
other posts by The Author
Nonprofit to Turn Tourist Trash into Nature’s Treasure:...
By Anna Berry
June 10, 2019
UN Aims to Protect Indigenous Peoples Fighting for Land and...
By Anna Berry
May 2, 2019
States Move to Protect Pregnant Workers as Congress Sleeps
By Anna Berry
April 12, 2019
A Series on Sensemaking Organizations
The Sensemaking Organization: Designing for Complexity
The Sensemaking Mindset: Improvisation over Strategy
Structuring for Sensemaking: The Power of Small Segments
logo
Donate
  • About
  • Contact
  • Newsletters
  • Write for NPQ
  • Advertise
  • Writers
  • Funders
  • Copyright Policy
  • Privacy Policy

Subscribe to View Webinars

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by GDPR plugin
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.