Ketcham is a first-generation seaman who grew up in Patchogue, and his love of fishing started around his “fifth or seventh birthday” with his dad. He remembers it as a cold, rainy, brutal day where he only caught one fish.
Fast-forward 30 years …
“Although it is good news that this bill is signed, people should understand that Suffolk County will now in effect have to set up a whole new program in order to map out and establish appropriate growing areas for kelp,” said Matt Ketcham, who owns an underwater farm in Great Peconic Bay.
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Make new traditions this Thanksgiving with our Peconic Gold Oyster Pan Roast!
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“People are looking to support guys like me, local businessmen and farmers, maybe a little bit more. I’ve seen a little increase in farm stand sales, which I definitely appreciate,” he said. “I’ll be okay. I’m just really worried about my business.”
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Matt Ketcham, owner of Peconic Gold Oysters, formerly known as Ketcham's Seafarm, sells oysters out of a cooler in front of his Cutchogue home.
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Learn how to make our almost famous Peconic Gold Oyster Stuffing for your Thanksgiving table!
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Ketcham, who has been shucking his oysters at Jamesport Brewery on weekends, is gearing up to open his Cutchogue roadside oyster stand in time for Columbus Day weekend. He is planning to sell oysters in a variety of increments, from 24 to as many as 50 oysters per bag. The stand will be located at 21125 Route 48 in Cutchogue between Depot Lane and Cox Lane.
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“Farming is a really great struggle,” said Matt Ketcham, owner of Peconic Gold Oysters . “[I’ve] been in business out here for six years,” he said. “There’s farm stands down the block from me, there’s farm stands across the street. They’re selling cider, donuts, apples. It’s great, and I don’t hear anybody complaining about that.”
Mr. Ketcham, like many oyster farmers and growers in the town, said his only intent is to sell oysters.
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Set in what was a 19th-century bait-and-tackle shop, right on Greenport Harbor, Little Creek Oyster Farm & Market encourages you to pry open your own Peconic Golds and Fire Island Blues. If you don’t want to, owners Ian Wile and Rosalie Rung are happy to oblige
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“Winter presents extra problems when it comes to handling our oysters,” Ketcham says. “Often, we’ll raise 50 pounds or more overhead. We try to use our equipment as much as possible, but there’s no way to avoid the need for pure manpower.”
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These oysters are attention-getting for their shells, which have deep cups and a reddish-gold hue, thanks to the minerals in Peconic Bay.
Ketcham’s love of the water was triggered at age 8 or 9. “My dad took me flounder fishing for my birthday,” said Ketcham, who now lives in Southold. “Later I worked in a tackle shop and on fishing boats, and then got my captain’s license.” Originally from Patchogue, he’s a graduate of the aquaculture and fisheries technology program at the University of Rhode Island and, like Wile, is one of Suffolk County’s first aquaculture leaseholders.
Captain Matt Ketcham of Peconic Gold Oysters says that he was “19 years old and working in the commercial fishing industry on Rhode Island while studying aquaculture at the University of Rhode Island” when he knew that he wanted to make a living on the water, one way or another.
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