The other oyster: How an alien shellfish with a strange taste made Harpswell its home

HARPSWELL ANCHOR • July 1, 2026

In the late 1940s, the population of Maine’s native oyster had all but disappeared. Known as the American oyster, its scientific name is Crassostrea virginica. Then, as now, the soft-shell clam population was in decline, probably because of predation by green crabs. Federal and state biologists decided to introduce European oysters to Maine. In 1952-53, Dana Walllace, a Brunswick resident and state marine biologist, led an effort to seed European oysters in Harpswell. “They taste like a penny.” In Europe, this metallic aspect is considered a good thing. There is a ray of hope for the wild population of American oysters here. While they are scarce compared to Europeans in Harpswell, Americans can be found.