aw, shucks

Suquamish Seafoods provides world-class shellfish

Words by Leif Utne

Wild geoduck clams — A traditional food worth up to $150 each in China (Photo: Brittany Kelley Photography)

If you love shellfish and care about the distance your food travels from farm to fork, you’re in luck. Some of the best oysters in the Pacific Northwest are grown right in our backyard, in the cool tidal waters of Agate Pass, farmed by Suquamish Seafoods.

The name “Suquamish” literally means “the people of clear salt water” in Lushootseed, the language of the people who have called this land home for millennia. It turns out the strong tidal flows that squeeze through the narrow channel between Bainbridge Island and Suquamish, right past the spot where Chief Sealth (aka Chief Seattle) made his winter home, provide ideal conditions for growing those delicious bivalves.

These local oysters are sold at restaurants and markets nationwide under the brand Agate Pass Pearls. But you can buy them directly at the Suquamish Seafoods store on Highway 305, along with a wide selection of local clams, Dungeness crab, salmon, halibut and cod.

Suquamish Seafoods was established by the Suquamish Tribe in 1996 after a federal judge ruled that, under their treaties with the U.S. government, local tribes are entitled to half the harvestable shellfish in their traditional fishing grounds. That includes both public and private tidelands in Puget Sound, except for shellfish in designated artificial beds.

For 20 years, Suquamish Seafoods focused on just one product: wild-caught geoduck clams exported to China. Pronounced “gooey-duck”—from the Lushootseed g^wídəq—these giant clams, with generous bodies that overflow their shells, and thick necks up to a foot in length, are a traditional food source for Northwest tribes.

While geoducks are largely a novelty item in local oyster and sushi bars, they are highly prized in China, where a two- to three-pound clam can fetch up to $150. Ninety-five percent of Suquamish Seafoods’ annual harvest, up to 500,000 pounds, goes to China. “There’s really no other market,” notes Tony Forsman, the company’s general manager.

In 2015, concerns about the sustainability of the geoduck population led regulators to cut harvest quotas. So Suquamish Seafoods diversified. They built a new processing plant to handle a larger variety of products, and hired Forsman, a fisheries policy expert and longtime Tribal leader, to helm the expansion.

The oyster farms, started in 2015, and the retail store, opened in 2019, have more than made up for the declining geoduck quotas and established Suquamish Seafoods as a critical part of the Tribe’s economy. It’s now a major local employer, with 27 contractors—mostly tenders and divers—and 23 employees, and plays an important role in reinforcing the Tribe’s cultural identity.

When a salmon or crab season opens, many staff take “cultural leave” to go fishing. And the retail store serves as an important outlet for their catch. “We buy salmon from Tribal members so they have a place to sell,” says Forsman. “It’s not a big moneymaker for the business, but it’s really important to the community.”

Keeping Suquamish Seafoods afloat, let alone growing, hasn’t been easy.

In 2019, Trump’s tariff war with China temporarily decimated the geoduck market. And in 2020, the oyster business, which had picked up much of the slack, was nearly wiped out, first by the COVID pandemic, then by a federal court ruling that vacated nearly all shellfish aquaculture permits in Western Washington.

But the company weathered those blows through a combination of federal aid, better trade relations with China, and a strong commitment to its workers and community.

After a year in regulatory limbo, the oyster farms are back online, and Forsman hopes to launch a direct-to-consumer service, shipping seafood straight to your door.

By the time you read this—fingers crossed—a new generation of those delectable Agate Pass Pearls should be just about big enough to eat.

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Azure’s Agatefellers

Baked oysters with nettles and panko

INGREDIENTS

24 fresh oysters, shucked, shells reserved
2 cloves garlic
1 c. tightly packed fresh nettles that have been blanched
½ c. roughly chopped green onions
½ c. roughly chopped parsley, leaves and stems
2 tsp. lemon juice
½ c. (1 stick) butter, softened
¾ c. panko bread crumbs
¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. coarse salt, for baking
Lemon wedges, for serving

PREPARATION

1. Place rack in top t hird of oven. Preheat to 450°. Add garlic, nettles, green onions, parsley, lemon juice and butter to a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.
2. In a medium bowl, combine panko, Parmesan and oil.
3. Sprinkle coarse salt over large baking sheet to depth of ½”. Arrange oysters in half shells in salt. Divide nettle mixture among oysters and sprinkle with Parmesan mixture.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes until nettle mixture is bubbling and panko is deeply golden.
5. Serve with lemon wedges.

Azure Bouré runs the Suquamish Tribe’s traditional food and medicine program.