From sea to shining sea, fish and cans are meant to be — at least that’s the idea at Island Creek Oysters, which is opening a fish cannery in New Bedford this month.
Duxbury oyster farm launches a line of craft preserves: European-style, ready-to-go tinned seafood. The 10,000 square foot cannery where these preserves are made is the first of its kind in the US, the company said. Island Creek, a well-known name in restaurant menus, is hoping that the longer shelf life of canned foods will help it reach a larger market.
“We’ve spent our entire careers selling food to chefs, which is great,” Island Creek president Christopher Sherman said in an interview. “But I think this cannery will lead us to selling to grocery store buyers.”
Currently, Island Creek sells shellfish to chefs across the country, operates an online retail business, and has its own restaurants. The company opened an outpost in Portland, Maine in 2017 known as The Shop, has a seasonal outdoor raw bar in Duxbury Bay, and operates Winsor House, a restaurant on its Duxbury farm.
Island Creek, which was founded about 30 years ago, began offering canned fish in 2016. But the product gained a lot of its popularity during the pandemic, when people used cans as pantry stockers and for home cooking. The company initially sourced the conservas from Spain, as they were traditionally more popular in Europe. Now, with its own cannery, Island Creek hopes to expand its business.
The cans range in price from $6 to $20, though the company hopes to eventually get them all under $10, Sherman said. They will be sold online and at Island Creek outposts in Maine and Duxbury.
The company has already hired five full-time staff for the New Bedford cannery, according to Sherman. The cannery will help promote economic growth in coastal communities, where there are fishermen and farmers, as it plans to buy some of their products that do not fare well on the fresh market, such as large oysters.
Two main features of conservas are their portability and versatility, according to Sherman. They can be eaten straight from the tin, as they come with seasonings including garlic and chilli, or they can be used to top dishes such as pasta and toast. And, they’re shelf stable for at least three years, Sherman says.
“As the seafood capital of America, New Bedford is the perfect location for the nation’s first craft cannery in the US,” New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said in a recent news release. “We look forward to the support [Island Creek] in this exciting new adventure.”
Sherman said the establishment has applied for a roughly $400,000 grant from the state Department of Agricultural Resources to automate some of the cannery’s functions so it can compete with European players. The first product to come out of the cannery will be hard shell clams from Virginia, though all canned products have been shucked, Sherman said. Later this year, shellfish grown and harvested by Island Creek owner and founder Skip Bennett will be released.
Bennett, who grew up in Duxbury digging clams, mussels and clams, said canned fish used to be a staple, especially in the days before refrigeration. Now, he and Sherman hope to help bring seafood canning back to New England.
“I’m excited to see how big the US market will be,” Bennett said. “It’s coming back, and I can’t wait to see what the new iteration of canned fish is.”
Esha Walia can be reached at [email protected].
