Client Spotlight: Taylor Shellfish Farms
Taylor Shellfish Farms traces its beginnings back to 1890, when the great-great-grandfather of the current owners began farming native Olympia oysters in the clean, bracing waters of Puget Sound’s Totten Inlet. Five generations on, the business is still family run—brothers Bill and Paul Taylor head operations alongside their brother-in-law Jeff Pearson—and has grown to become the largest shellfish farming operation in North America, producing over 36 million oysters a year alone.
Taylor Shellfish Farms cultivates multiple varieties of oysters.
Today the company cultivates multiple varieties of oysters, Mediterranean mussels, Manila clams, and the unmistakable geoduck, a species native to the Pacific Northwest, at farms in the Hood Canal, Samish Bay, Willapa Bay, and Oakland Bay in addition to Puget Sound. Each farm’s distinct “merroir”—its particular natural conditions, including the mineral makeup, depth, and temperature of its water—determines which species are best suited to be cultivated there and imprints itself on the shellfish’s flavor.
By honoring the interplay of natural environment and thoughtful farming, Taylor Shellfish Farms produces exceptional products that have earned the company a sterling reputation and numerous awards. It has also become a leader in its industry for protecting the natural integrity of farmed waterways and innovating sustainable farming techniques. To demonstrate its dedication to sustainability to its consumers and positively influence other producers, the company works with multiple third-party certifiers to monitor the quality of its farms and products. Since 2011 Taylor Shellfish Farms has partnered with Food Alliance to certify its sustainable agricultural practices—starting with its mussel farms and expanding to include all its shellfish farms in Washington State.
Taylor Shellfish Farms Partners with Food Alliance
Erin Ewald, Director of Regulatory Affairs at Taylor Shellfish Farms, appreciates that Food Alliance takes a multifaceted approach to certification, evaluating grower activities from a holistic perspective and working together with growers to develop a plan for ongoing improvement. Food Alliance helps producers improve operations, record keeping, animal treatment, and environmental resilience over time to make real, lasting changes that are sustainable for the business as well as the natural environment.
“Taylor Shellfish has a deep-rooted ethos that a rising tide lifts all boats.”
“Taylor Shellfish is committed to maintaining its position as an industry leader in sustainability,” Erin says. “Working with Food Alliance allows us to track how we are measuring up and moving forward with sustainability goals.” A priority among those goals is maintaining clean water and healthy ecosystems at the company’s farms and for the larger water systems that support them. With its long family history, the company understands firsthand the importance of protecting resources for future generations. Practices that sustain and improve water health will keep the company’s farms producing for another five generations.
Certifying its farming practices through Food Alliance also gives the company access to experienced auditors who serve as expert partners in helping it achieve its goals. “Auditors who are familiar with general operations, growing areas, current science, and local dynamics can more effectively tour and evaluate the farms and provide useful feedback and realistic achievement goals for the future,” explains Erin. “The Food Alliance shellfish auditor for Washington State is well respected in both the science and grower circles for their fair and balanced perspective.”
Taylor Shellfish Farms cultivates the unmistakable geoduck, a species native to the Pacific Northwest, at farms in the Hood Canal, Samish Bay, Willapa Bay, and Oakland Bay in addition to Puget Sound.
Community First Approach
Partnering with certifiers is part of Taylor Shellfish Farms’ larger commitment to being an active participant in its extended community. “Taylor Shellfish has a deep-rooted ethos that a rising tide lifts all boats,” says Erin. “In all of its activities and interests, Taylor works to lift as it climbs.”
Taylor Shellfish funds science-based youth programs to promote education in biology, nature, and marine environments and supports hands-on volunteering in the community.
The company sells shellfish seeds from its hatchery to other growers and noncommercial residential farmers, as well as to nonprofits focused on restoration activities. “At these sales,” says Erin, “we provide messages regarding debris prevention, water quality, and tribal notifications.” The company also ensures buyers are educated about the safe transfer of shellfish to prevent disease and transport of pests. “All of these messages,” Erin explains, “help promote positive actions to maintain and improve the Puget Sound environment into the future.”
As the company notes on its website, “producing high-quality shellfish requires a long-term commitment to people and place. We are dedicated to our communities, employees, and the environment in which we work.” That dedication manifests in the form of regular community events as well as in sponsorships and grants. Taylor Shellfish funds science-based youth programs to promote education in biology, nature, and marine environments and supports hands-on volunteering in the community, with a focus on shoreline and beach restoration and the enhancement of shared public facilities.
The company’s investment in the sustainability of its farms and community pays multiple dividends, not least of which is the high quality of its products. Taylor Shellfish pushes itself to innovate farming techniques that support the health of its farms while simultaneously improving their output. Taylor is widely praised for all its shellfish and especially its oysters, which include its famous Shigoku, an oyster grown using a proprietary tumbling technique that produces a wonderful texture and deep shell.
Each Shigoku that’s sold and shucked helps to sustain the water it was grown in and the larger community involved in its production. Working with Food Alliance, Taylor Shellfish Farms ensures consumers have the opportunity to buy and slurp an oyster that both tastes and does good.