Our Oysters

Ever wonder where our oysters come from? How many oysters are consumed in a season?
Let’s take a look at the Wellfleet Oysters featured at Pearl!

Why are Wellfleet Oysters so famously delicious?
A number of factors play into the exclusively delicious taste Wellfleet oysters have. Water salinity, strong tides, and cold clean water play a major role. Our local waters supply nutrients and phytoplankton the oysters feed on making their taste genuinely unique.

Wellfleet Oyster Alliance

The Wellfleet Oyster Alliance (WOA) , is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the present, championing the past, and advocating for the future of shellfishing in Wellfleet. As stewards of the iconic Wellfleet oyster, WOA works to preserve the town’s shellfishing heritage while supporting the long-term health of its coastal ecosystems.

WOA is best known for the Wellfleet OysterFest, its largest fundraiser. The festival helps support WOA’s year-round efforts including community grants, scholarships, educational programs, and community events. Deeply rooted in Wellfleet, WOA remains committed to putting the community first in all that it does.
To learn more about Wellfleet Oysters visit Wellfleet Oyster Alliance at wellfleetoa.org.

Billingsgate Farm

Pearl’s number one, primary supplier is Billingsgate Shellfish. Started in 1982 by Bob Wallace, Billingsgate is located on two different sites and covers 7.5 acres on the intertidal flats in Wellfleet.

For over 40 years Billingsgate Shellfish has been selling its exceptional product to distributors all along the East coast. A family-owned and operated farm, you can see Bob, his son John, and his crew delivering oysters to the Pearl every day.

Billingsgate Shellfish grows a natural, “free range” oyster. The abundance of diatoms in the water makes the oysters and clams exceptionally sweet. Billingsgate collects its seed oysters from natural growing spat. These oysters are 100% born and raised in Wellfleet waters.

You can see one of Billingsgate’s shellfish grants from the top deck of the Pearl.
Check out billingsgateshellfish.com.

In 2025 Pearl’s guests enjoyed over 95K Billingsgate Wellfleet Oysters! Wow, that’s a lot of oysters!

Pearl sells Billingsgate oysters and clams every day. We offer a discount on oysters and clams daily, from 3-5 pm during our “Fresh Seafood, Live Music” Happy Hour. Don’t forget we also have some of the best live entertainment around! https://wellfleetpearl.com/live-music/

So, what do you do with all those oyster shells??
We don’t chuck your shuck! Pearl participates in the Outer Cape Shell Recycling Program with partners the Wellfleet Oyster Alliance and the Massachusetts’s Oyster Project.

Now in its 6th full season, more than 107 tons of shell have been recaptured and kept out of the waste stream. Pearl alone has recycled 20 tons of those oyster shells-about the weight of 13 fully grown Great White Sharks! That’s a lot of recycled shells!

The recycled shell is collected, aged for a full year at the Wellfleet Transfer station, and is then utilized by the Town of Wellfleet as cultch, or natural bed, and returned to Wellfleet Harbor where it becomes natural habitat for oysters to spawn and grow.

Why should I recycle my shells?

Shells are a natural product; recycling them keeps them out of landfills!
Baby oysters like to grow on other oyster shells. Similar to coral reefs, oysters grow on
top of each other to form large structures called reefs, beds, or bars.
Oysters are important for our environment. They filter the water, protect the shoreline
from wave action, and their beds are home to many different kinds of creatures,
fostering biodiversity.
Wellfleet has a significant wild oyster harvest. It will help bring in valuable revenue each
year!

We hope to see you (eating oysters) at the Pearl soon!