Episode 15: Navigating the Maine Oyster Trail With Trixie Betz

In this episode of OYSTER-ology, host Kevin Cox talks with Trixie Betz, Outreach & Development Specialist for the Maine Aquaculture Association, who is responsible for managing the Maine Oyster Trail. Trixie shares her background, from her upbringing in New York and summers spent in Maine to her initial foray into aquaculture. She explains the evolution of the trail from it’s genesis as a paper map to it’s growth into the first digital interactive, incentive-based oyster trail/guide in the United States. The trail connects oyster enthusiasts with nearly 100 destinations including farm tours, restaurants, tastings, retreats, boat tours and charters, promoting the diversity and sustainable practices of Maine's oyster industry. The trail's interactive features, such as an online map, trip itinerary planner and Oyster Passport for tracking visits and earning prizes reinforce its educational and promotional aims. Trixie highlights the trail's community-driven approach, her visual storytelling of Maine’s oyster world and the deep fulfillment she finds in the aquaculture industry. Her commitment and passion for the work she does and the part she plays in sustainable food production shines through the entire conversation, rendering her wise beyond her age. If you want to be inspired by the youth of today, this conversation with Trixie is for you.

00:00 Introduction to Oyster Eating

00:36 Guest Introduction: Trixie and the Maine Oyster Trail

01:02 Trixie's Background and Journey into Aquaculture

03:35 Falling in Love with Oyster Farming

08:15 The Importance of Visual Storytelling in Aquaculture

13:09 Exploring the Maine Oyster Trail

18:34 Interactive Features and Incentives of the Oyster Trail

38:09 Challenges and Future Plans for the Maine Oyster Trail

41:58 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Links:

Maine Oyster Trail (https://maineoystertrail.com/)

YouTube video for Maine Oyster Trail (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHGD7Dt9TEg)

Maine Aquaculture Social Media videos (https://maineaqua.org/video-gallery/)

Please be sure to Like and Follow OYSTER-ology wherever you listen to podcasts, and tell others about it. Every positive mention of it helps more people find the podcast!

Transcript

Episode 15: Navigating the Maine Oyster Trail With Trixie Betz

[00:00:00]

[Bubbles]

Trixie: That's what's also so cool about oysters is everyone has such a different way of eating them

Kevin: When you tried your first oyster What was your reaction?

Trixie: Oh I feel like I might've loaded it up with so much lemon juice Minionette that I didn't taste it.

And I still kind of do that. It's really bad, but I do still kind of do that. It's sometimes I like my oyster to just kind of be a vehicle for Minionette. But,I think the first oyster I had, I probably, my teeth probably didn't even touch it,

 [Bubbles]

Welcome to OYSTER-ology, a podcast about the wide world of oysters, aquaculture, and everything from spat to shuck. I'm your host and the Foodwalker, Kevin Cox. Have you ever been driving around an area, seeing oyster farms spread out along the coastline between restaurants and oyster shacks, and wished you knew which ones were open to the public or worth stopping at?

It's hard to pop into [00:01:00] multiple places that you don't know anything about, and searching for them while driving can be a challenge for both you and your front seat co pilot. Well, if you're in Maine, your wish has been granted. That's because I'm sitting down with Trixie Betz, the Outreach & Development Specialist for the Maine Aquaculture Association, about her management of the innovative Maine Oyster Trail, the first interactive incentive based oyster trail in the United States.

The trail connects oyster enthusiasts with nearly a hundred oyster related destinations, including restaurants, raw bars, farm tours, and boat charters. Oyster aficionados can use an online Oyster Passport to track their visits and earn prizes. It's all designed to promote the diversity and sustainable practices of Maine's oyster industry. Before taking on this responsibility, Trixie studied – you guessed it – Spanish and Criminal Justice at the University of Maine during the COVID pandemic. Upon graduating and trying to decide what her next step was she found [00:02:00] herself thinking not “what do I want my job to be?” but rather “what do I want out of a job?” She took an interim job to pay the bills on a small oyster farm in Brunswick thinking it would last a couple of weeks, but she unexpectedly fell in love with it. When she tried to leave it for a traditional career in marketing, the pull of oysters and food production brought her back to the water.

In our conversation, Trixie explains the evolution of the trail, from its genesis as a paper map, to its growth to an interactive digital guide, along with the challenges of managing the trail and the importance of visual storytelling and educating the public about aquaculture. Through the discussion, Trixie's deep commitment to both the Maine aquaculture world and her lifelong goal of helping produce sustainable food is revealed, with a youthful yet wise and mature understanding that defies her 25 year age. Want to be inspired by the youth of today? This conversation is for you. 

So log on to the app store and [00:03:00] fire up your smartphone's camera so you too can discover the wonders of Maine's oyster coast and learn about the best way to see oyster farms up close, how to find your own unique career niche, treasure hunting for QR codes, the beauty of visual storytelling, the pull of oyster farming, merging technology with tourism, eating your first oyster, earning oyster merch and the nuances of oyster tasting with visual storyteller and oyster trail maker, Trixie Betz

[Bubbles]

Kevin: Trixie, it is so fabulous to have you as my guest on OYSTER-ology today. Thank you so much for being here.

Trixie: I'm so happy to be here.

Kevin: Now, you basically are in charge of the United States’ first interactive incentive based oyster trail. And, that's called the Maine Oyster Trail.

Trixie: Yep. That's right. That's exactly right.

Kevin: But before we get into that, I want to hear about you. [00:04:00] So what's your background and how did you get here?

Trixie: Sure. So I am the outreach and development specialist for the Maine Aquaculture Association. We're a trade association for aquaculture in Maine, and we basically work to provide a variety of services to our members and to growers in the state, whatever it is that they may need. We do business planning support. My focus is communications. and I've been in this position since June 2023. And it is I'm relatively new to the aquaculture space. So aquaculture was not something that I studied in school, not something that I ever thought that I would be doing in my career.

I kind of happened upon it, a little bit accidentally. So, I would say that the key piece that connected me to aquaculture in the first place was just a love for the ocean, so, I grew up spending summers, on Penobscot Bay, going to a sailing camp, and then I later taught at that sailing camp. And I just spent every summer of my life on the ocean in Maine. and I [00:05:00] feel like it's a really key part of me.

Kevin: Are you originally from Maine?

Trixie: No, I'm a New Yorker originally, but I have spent every summer of my life in Maine, mostly on the Blue Hill Peninsula.

Kevin: What actually did you study in school?

Trixie: So I studied Spanish and criminal justice in college. and I originally thought that I might pursue a degree, or a career in law. But then after graduating and also going through college in the time of COVID wanted to definitely take a break and reevaluate where I thought my career path would go. And like every recent college grad, just wanted to see what was coming next. So I graduated from the University of Maine in May 2022 and then I moved down to the Brunswick area and was working in food service and really just trying to find where my niche would be. I've always had creative passions and pursued creative things and that was something I was hoping to possibly incorporate into my [00:06:00] career But, you know, being a recent grad, you're really just looking for whatever will come next. So after I graduated from UMaine, I had an opportunity to work on an oyster farm in Brunswick and I thought that that was going to be something that was temporary. I was using a lot of my skills that I learned from sailing, things like knot tying, boat handling, boat safety, being able to work outside for a long hot day, things I had already enjoyed doing and knew how to do. But it's not something that I thought I would do for very long. And then I ended up absolutely falling in love with the aquaculture community.

So I was doing that in August and I thought it would be something I do for two weeks and it ended up being six months of, sticking with the same farm and getting introduced to the community and meeting other growers and just getting exposed to the industry. And it's something I never could have expected.

I never thought that I would be an oyster farmer, but I [00:07:00] absolutely loved it. And I sort of started to look holistically at my career in terms of not thinking specifically, what do I want my job to be? But what do I want out of a job? So some of the things that I loved about working on a farm was that I felt like what I was doing mattered. I was growing food, in a sustainable way. I was looking around at the other members of my community and seeing how enthusiastic and energetic they were, which really inspired me. I think having that collective enthusiasm is really important and is how people keep energy through their careers. And I felt really happy doing what I was doing. You know, you'd think that waking up super early and going out on a cold day, rainy day doesn't really matter what the weather is. You have to get out there and harvest these oysters. you know, it's not for everybody, but I absolutely loved the rainy days, the sunny days and every day in between.

Um, I think the physical work was really [00:08:00] rewarding. I loved the team that I was working with, and it just sort of scratched an itch I didn't know I had and checked a lot of my boxes, and informed looking forward in my career, what are some of those non negotiables that I want in a job, um, being around people that are enthusiastic and dedicated and believe in what they're doing, feeling fulfilled at the end of the day, things like that. So that was my first introduction to aquaculture uh it was really just being on the ground grassroots. And then in that role, which was mostly a farmhand position, I took initiative to help them with their social media marketing and a bit of their website marketing as well, just to use and exercise some of my creative skills, find an outlet in the position that I had.

And I think that allowed me to see sort of from the lens of aquaculture storytelling, which I do a lot of in my job [00:09:00] now, um, and doing it from the farmer perspective. I think having been a farmer, I now have the farmer perspective for the work that I do now. So I worked there up until January and then I took a brief break, to try to pursue a more traditional marketing career.

And I realized that that was missing a lot of those key elements of mission, making a difference. some of the community elements that I thought were really crucial to. What I was looking for in a career. And I went running back to aquaculture and was luckily lucky enough to, to land this job at the Maine Aquaculture Association and, been there ever since and absolutely love it.

Kevin: You're hitting all of the things that I hear every other oyster farmer talking about. Fulfillment, purpose, making food, doing something that counts. Not to mention getting cold, wet and muddy, but you know, there's something fun about that too, right?

Trixie: Yeah. Those are the most rewarding parts is that you're giving so much of yourself for [00:10:00] something. You're braving the cold and the elements to do something. And it's because you believe in it that you're doing that, you know, you could get a desk job. But there's people who are intentionally seeking this out to feel closer to their food system to feel closer to the earth. and to feel more in charge of their own destiny. I think, you know, there's a lot of entrepreneurs in this space who are wanting to redefine what it is to have a career. And to pursue something that feels really meaningful to them.

I think also, like, I've been raised in a digital world. Working with your hands is so incredibly rewarding. And I think there's a lot of people who are kind of craving that work.

Kevin: The farming that you were doing, was that mostly bottom culture or floating gear ?

Trixie: So, the farm that I worked on was majority surface culture grown oysters. It was a really small farm in Brunswick, Maine. and my day-to-day was processing oysters, tumbling and culling them, getting them ready for market, harvesting oysters to bring them to market. a lot [00:11:00] of repetitive tasks, but you get pretty good at them over time. And it was a pretty small team of three of us. So you also get really close.

Kevin: So short of, working in a hatchery, basically you've done all of it. Great.

Trixie: Yeah.

Kevin: I'm very curious about your storytelling and, I read that it's visual storytelling, and I'm not sure I know what that is. Tell me about your whole storytelling thing.

Trixie: Right, so, I would say that I specialize in visual storytelling. I have a bit of a background in video production, which has benefited my work in visual storytelling, but it also is just by nature of this industry being relatively new and there being a lot of unknowns about what the industry looks like, who farmers are.

The visual aspect is really important to show rather than tell, we're talking about a lot of new technical language. and you know, when you say farming for most people that produces images of agriculture. We're so familiar with agriculture as farming and farming as [00:12:00] agriculture. And then we're bringing in this new concept of aquaculture and, people are trying to square it with what their idea of fishing is and, you know, just trying to find that middle ground between, you know, This is farming, but it's on the water.

So I use a lot of my skills in video production to try to show rather than tell, so showing people, what does an oyster farm look like when we're talking about surface culture cages? What do those look like? A small scale farm versus a medium scale farm versus a large scale farm showing people so that they don't necessarily just have to trust what it is that I'm telling them.

It's sort of a see for yourself mentality. That is really valuable for building trust because it allows someone to see something with their own eyes, come to their own conclusions about it. and also just is much better for transparency. If you can show someone what aquaculture is. as something that is relatively new to Maine, it's relatively new [00:13:00] to the United States.

It's something that is growing and necessary, and as we're seeing, greater interest, and the United States as a whole, showing greater interest in growing the industry as a sustainable food source to feed people in the future, it's so important that people know what it is that they need. That is happening in Maine or across the country and are able to see for themselves.

So, I try in my job to produce videos that just clearly demonstrate what different types of species, how different type of species are farmed, the different scales of farms. if you went out on a farm to see, for example, a, the seeding of seaweed lines for a seaweed farm. What does that look like? What are the techniques and the technology being used? because I think that that is the easiest way to reach people. And also we're living in a time of so much visual media, so much video content, that, you know, we communicate our [00:14:00] messages in a variety of ways.

We use pretty much all types of media, but especially on social media, it's a lot of video content. So I to try to create engaging video content that doesn't only educate people, but interests them and invites them in and is intriguing or exciting is really important. On top of some of the traditional media that we use press, I mean, we show up in person to a lot of people to give presentations or just be, be present for community events. but in terms of the digital side that can reach the most amount of people who maybe are not able to get out to farms, it's really important that they also have access to what does the industry look like?

Kevin: Do you have like a YouTube channel?

Trixie: Yeah, we do have a YouTube channel, but I would say that we use our Maine aquaculture association, Instagram more, which is Maine underscore aquaculture on Instagram. So we primarily use social media, just because that seems to be where everybody is. It's one of [00:15:00] the easiest places to deliver video content, especially short form video content. It has comment sections where people can engage in conversation with each other.

 We have a very dedicated, and engaged follower base that also goes out of their way to reshare our content. So they make sure that any videos that I put out that are explaining the scale of the industry are showing what an oyster farm looks like and end up reaching an audience even beyond our organic audience. So we really mostly stick to Instagram and Facebook, but we do a little bit here and there with longer form video on YouTube.

Kevin: I've seen a lot of your social media and one of the things about it is that. It creates a feeling of being there. Like I really get the vibe of what you're showing.

Trixie: Definitely. I mean, Maine is somewhat remote, you know, we're off at the end of the Northeast. And so making sure that our content that is reaching people outside of Maine can really [00:16:00] feel like they're there is really important. So it's great to hear that feedback, you know, mission accomplished.

Kevin: Absolutely. You work for the Maine Aquaculture Association. So what then is the Maine Oyster Trail?

Trixie: So the Maine Oyster Trail is a project within the Maine Aquaculture Association. which I will probably call the MAA from here on out. So it was between the MAA and Maine Sea Grant. and it was started sort of as an initiative as we were seeing the growth of the oyster industry in Maine, to get the word out about oysters in Maine and to sort of create a collective of the different oyster experiences that are being offered in the state.

And so the origin story of the oyster trail is that the original oyster trail was started in 2017, and that was a printable map. So a fixed map, but as the industry began to grow [00:17:00] and new businesses were being added, there needed to be a more easily updated, more complex version of the map.

 I can't take any of the credit for the creation of the trail, but I do want to give credit where credit is due. It was originally developed by my, former supervisor, Afton Vigue, who created the Maine Aquaculture Associations communications department basically from scratch. Also Jacqueline Robidoux, who is a seaweed extension agent at Main Sea Grant. And then Heather Moretti, who was the former aquaculture hub coordinator for Maine Sea Grant. And these three ladies deserve all the credit for making the trail what it is today. But they identified that there is this recognition for the Maine seafood brand, for Maine's natural beauty, and then obviously this strong tourism economy, where people are coming to Maine for different experiences.

One of those experiences also is the culinary experiences that we have to offer with our, high quality agricultural [00:18:00] and seafood products and things like that. And so how do we connect the many people who are visiting our state and also the people within our state who are engaging with those different avenues of tourism with this new craft that is oyster farming and something that we're seeing that's growing in Maine.

The first oyster farms started in the 70s, but only in the last 10 years or so has there been this sort of boom of people getting into the industry, starting small farms and scaling them. And right now Maine is home to right around 150 oyster farms. most of them are extremely small scale.

The vast majority are family owned. but that has been a big increase. since, you know, 10 years ago, and these farms stretch all up and down the coast. And during COVID, they faced, you know, many challenges in terms of access to markets and being able to sell their product. So many of them were looking into diversifying through tourism. And so, many [00:19:00] growers started offering things like oyster tours. So the oyster trail was trying to keep up with creating a platform to connect people to these different experiences. We have so many restaurants and raw bars. boat tours. And now we have farms that are offering tours to connect people to the method of growing the seafood directly.

Kevin: So how do you pull all of that together into one sort of unified thing that you call the Maine Oyster Trail?

Trixie: So back when the revamped version of the oyster trail into the digital version that we know now what's happening. We surveyed growers to try to see what they would want out of a trail, what would best serve them. You know, as a trade association working to serve our members, so we wanted to make sure that in addition to aiding the consumer, that this would be beneficial for the growers as well, providing them with more opportunities, to get either people to [00:20:00] purchase their oysters directly to visit their farms to, you know, you know, grow their businesses in different ways. And so we had surveyed growers to try to identify what they would want out of the trail. But really it was sort of what are the main three destinations that we're going to find. It's restaurants slash raw bars, places where people go and eat their food the oysters off a plate, farm tours led by farmers. So going directly out to a farm and then sort of in the middle ground there, that the tourism experience of charter tours, whether they're tall ships or motorboat tours that can, Bring folks out to multiple farms or show them an oyster region And get to see just from maybe a little bit more far away what farms are like and maybe see a selection of farms?

And so we identified that those are maybe the three sort of destination categories. and there's overlap within that too. So there are farms that you could buy [00:21:00] oysters from directly. They also offer tours or they also own a restaurant. So you'll see those as well, that there's like, farmers are never doing just one thing.

It's often that they are, entertaining a variety of different, Sort of economic drivers.

Kevin: I'm sure you know that a lot of different areas, have oyster trails or are trying to develop something like that, but you, do it in a way that I've never seen before. Explain how. The Maine oyster trail works, the interactive aspect of it, that sort of thing.

Trixie: Yeah, so I think that, you know, no one needs any incentive to go and enjoy oysters, but we wanted to make sure that this, oyster guide was very interactive. it also allows us to show the direct impact of the trail.

so I don't know as much about other sort of like beer and wine trails or other types of trails, culinary trails across the country. but we decided to pursue a sort of prize claim [00:22:00] structure that, Encourages and incentivizes people to visit as many destinations as possible. And, you know, we think that's great because it forces people to see the breadth of the industry.

Farms have varieties of scale, varieties of growing methods.every farmer has a different method of processing their oysters. Every farmer is an engineer who's innovated their own way to do it. And so by encouraging people to visit as many destinations as possible,it gives them an opportunity to see the diversity of the industry.

So we also knew that, you know, making sure that people could see, sort of from sea to table, they're seeing the oysters growing in the water, how they're harvested, who is harvesting them, and the journey from, you know, The water to their plate where, not very many people get to see that part of food production or of the food system is really important and, and helps create, I think, better trust in the food system. You've met the person that grew your food. You saw how it's being grown and then you [00:23:00] enjoyed it. I think that's like an invaluable experience. 

Kevin: It always tastes better that way, doesn't it?

Trixie: Exactly. And it's a lot of fun. I mean, it's educational and fun all in one.

Kevin: How does one kind of show or track what they're doing on your Maine oyster trail?

Trixie: So, if you go to the Maine Oyster Trail website, Maineeoystertrail. com, you can find the interactive map that allows you to click through destinations, and I'm able to update that from my side regularly with new destinations, or if different destinations or businesses change their offerings, add a tour, things like that.

And you're able to click on the destination. Say you're going to the Damariscotta River. You can see what oyster activities are offered there, what oyster businesses are active and, navigate directly to their sites to either make a reservation at a restaurant or book a farm tour. So it allows, people to, navigate directly to how they take advantage of that opportunity, and we also have a fun [00:24:00] feature, which is the trip itinerary feature that allows you to, if you know that you're going to the Damariscatta for a day with your friends, and you want to do as much oyster tourism as possible, you can plan your trip and select the destinations you'd like to visit, and it will plot your itinerary for you of how to navigate between the different destinations. 

Kevin: Oh, wow. Yeah. Is that utilizing almost a kind of AI technology to help plan your trip for you?

Trixie: It's more like pre-AI. And then the thing that people love most, I think about the oyster trail, other than enjoying the oysters is that there is a prize structure. So the more places you visit, the more prizes you can earn. So we've created what we're calling the oyster passport, where you create an account online and each destination on the trail has a unique four digit code. So when you visit, you ask about the code, or often it's displayed either in the restaurant or on the boat that you're touring on, and you check in on your Oyster passport, log that destination, [00:25:00] and the more check ins you get, the more prizes that we mail you, so, 

Kevin: Everybody loves Oyster merch, right?

Trixie: Exactly, and so one of the first prizes you can get is a koozie and a sticker, and that's where you're an Oyster newbie, and then, I think that is one to two check ins. And so the more The more destinations you check in, the more prizes you earn. So we have koozies, stickers, baseball hats, beanies, tote bags. And when you check in at over 50 locations, you are labeled a Maine oyster connoisseur and you win a secret grand prize, which I can't tell you. But I can say that, we had our first Maine oyster connoisseur this year, who we mailed a prize to, who was a very excited young woman who has been dedicating you know, multiple years to, visiting every destination that she can.

Kevin: I like the fact that it remains a mystery. So you have to kind of get there to figure out what it is.

Trixie: Yeah. We, we mailed her her prize and told her, please do [00:26:00] not share with other people because we want to kind of keep the mystery in the anticipation.

Kevin: Is there a cost associated with that, or is that free?

Trixie: It's free to join the trail, which is great because it keeps the barrier of entry low. And we want to make sure that, all Maine oyster farmers and people with Maine oyster businesses can take advantage of this quasi marketing initiative to get the word out about Maine oysters and show Tourists to Maine what the Maine oyster industry has to offer we will have people who reach out and say they want to become a member of the trail And I will send them a short sort of application form so I can get all of the necessary information if they're offering a tour, how many passengers can they take? Where, you know, parking for their tour location is things like that. And then I create their listing and send them their unique code. and you know, we've seen such great interest as new businesses pop up wanting to join the trail because it is [00:27:00] a relatively low lift for them and a pretty low lift for us as well. It doesn't cost them anything to pay into it. And, they can basically take advantage of having their business advertised on our platform. And then on my end, it's also relatively self sufficient because people love oysters. It's not hard to convince them to go and have a great day on the water enjoying oysters and then go to a raw bar later in the day.

And, we've just kind of seen it be a self perpetuating and that the friends are telling friends and the word gets out, we do a little bit of advertising here and there, but really it's just been word of mouth. And also people sporting really cool, really snazzy Maine oyster shell gear that, that they can't buy.

Kevin: So,you have to earn it, right?

Trixie: Yeah. I'll have people come up to my table. If I'm tabling at an oyster festival or some aquaculture event and asked to buy the Maine oyster chill merch. And I have to very [00:28:00] politely say, I'm sorry, you have to actually earn this.

Kevin: I think that makes it even more exciting because it is unique and almost bespoke So, basically you guys are a not for profit, centralized portal for all things oysters in Maine, whether it's farmers, restaurants, whatever the case may be.

Trixie: Right, and it makes it easy because we aren't having to coordinate tours ourselves. We aren't having to do the communication between an interested visitor and a farmer or a restaurant. It's really just we are the conduit for people who are wanting to take advantage of oyster tourism and the people who are offering oyster tourism activities. So, yeah, it seems sort of like a no brainer. It's sort of an automatic win there.

Kevin: Do you oversee oyster farmers in terms of are they giving a good tour? Are they doing things the way you think is appropriate?

Trixie: Yeah. So we don't do any real direct enforcement. [00:29:00] We haven't had anyone who has, egregiously violated any, any rules of the trail, but we just do ask that anyone that is going to be a trail member to make a good example and to serve as a good example for the oyster industry, to follow, you know, best practices and especially if they're operating a boat tour, observe safety and boat safety, for their passengers.

With an industry that is relatively new it is so important that everyone is putting their best foot forward and really trying to be role models for others in the industry and set a good example. And so we just ask that trail members set a good example for the industry and make a good name for the industry and whatever it is that they're doing,

Kevin: Sounds kind of almost self governing in that way.

Trixie: Yeah, definitely. Like restaurants have to abide by their own food safety standards. Any boat operators have to abide by liability. They have to have people sign waivers if that's what they're doing. We don't necessarily have to [00:30:00] govern that. It's sort of self governed by whatever area of the industry folks are in.

Kevin: Do you have a team of people that you work with to operate this or are you kind of running the whole, show?

Trixie: Right now it's kind of just me. I always have Jacqueline at Maine Sea Grant to reach out to if I have questions or need support. she sometimes has better ideas than I do. But, right now I do the majority of making sure that I'm answering emails, fulfilling prize claims, adding new members to the trail. it's really just making sure that we're mailing prizes out. If people want to join the trail, that we're responding in a timely manner with the right information, responding to press inquiries, I do the most of that. But yeah, it's a very self sustaining and, and relatively low effort thing, considering how, big of an impact it's having for the oyster industry.

Kevin: Do you know how many members there are currently, both on the, oyster providing side, as well as the trail following side? [00:31:00]

Trixie: Yeah, so we have almost a hundred destinations on the trail And then, right now we have over 5, 000 Trailgoers is what we're calling them. So people who've created accounts and are active on the trail, checking in at destinations. There's over 5, 000 people and this trail was only launched in 2021, so that's absolutely incredible.

Yeah. People love it. People are so excited to be a part of it. And I'm constantly meeting people who are in the oyster world, love oysters, live in Maine, who have never heard of the trail and are so excited to sign up, in 2023 alone, we had over 2, 400 check ins on the trail.

Kevin: That's gotta be a record. I mean,like you said earlier, Maine is far away for a lot of people.

Trixie: Folks are already coming here to enjoy seafood.Why not provide them with a variety of options and, a lot of lobster boats especially in the Casco Bay area that might have done harbor tours focusing just on that area of the [00:32:00] working waterfront are now being able to offer oyster tours taking folks out to oyster farms in the area on top of showcasing the fishing side of, these working waterfronts. So it's allowing that area of tourism to also diversify

Kevin: One of the things that I, found very interesting, was how you divide the coastal part of the state up into, Three or four different kinds of regions. Tell me a little bit about that.

Trixie: We decided to divide the oyster regions up into four regions, which are the Maine beaches, Greater Portland and Casco Bay, the Midcoast and Islands, and then Downeast and Acadia. And the majority of oyster farms you'll find are in the Greater Portland and Casco Bay, and then the Midcoast and the Islands, Damariscotta included obviously in the latter there. But also within these regions are other smaller regions, that all have different flavor profiles.It allowed us to [00:33:00] provide for someone who was maybe approaching the Maine coast for the first time, giving them a little bit more information about different regions of the state. it also allowed us to create a prize tier where, if people want to win the Maine oyster trail beanie, they have to visit one location in each of those regions.

So just to make another opportunity for people to work a little harder, drive a little farther, for their oysters.

Kevin: And each of them are kind of different regions, where the oysters can be quite distinctive from one another.

Trixie: Yeah, and a lot of that has to do with water temperature as well. So if you take an oyster farm tour down in the Kittery area versus one that is more in the Deer Isle area, you will see a very different, growing method and rate of growing. So oysters grow faster in warmer water.

So where you're having warmer waters in sort of the Southern Maine, Portland area, where oysters are, reaching market size sooner, you go further down east and, it's a little [00:34:00] bit of a longer time to market size and they face different types of challenges. and so I think it was to try to encourage people to see different types of oyster farming in those different areas and just how different they can be, you know, like all Maine oysters are delicious, but, they all are grown in different ways and they are very unique and diverse.

And you will see a lot of differences between the types of farms you might visit in the portland area And it's important for people to know that there are these distinct sort of growing regions That have certain advantages and disadvantages and face certain challenges. I think we've seen, like you had kind of said a renaissance of people really wanting to delve into and identify those subtle and slight changes between oysters grown in the same state, often on the same river that have very distinct, flavors.

And even the look of the outside can look different as well, whether [00:35:00] they're grown on the surface or grown on the bottom or how many times they're handled before being brought to market. There's really a lot of variables there that can change the experience of the oyster, even though it is coming from the same state.

LikeThere's so much nuance there. And it is such a complex. Flavor profile. I mean, I feel like we hear all about that with with wine tasting and sommeliers And it's something that I don't know that I could ever identify But I feel like I'm able to identify those subtle changes in oysters I'm working on more finely tuning that but I think there's a lot of people who are really just so tickled by how the how Diverse the flavor profiles can be even just from the same same area

Kevin: So I, I take it from that excellent description that you just gave that you enjoy eating oysters a lot.

Trixie: I do, and I honestly should eat more of them. You know, we, there's so much, so many, [00:36:00] recommendations out there that we should all be eating more seafood, especially more shellfish and oysters are one of those sort of super foods. and I think I'm almost spoiled here having such easy access to them. but I don't eat them as often as you would think.

but I'm trying to trying to do that more.

Kevin: Did you eat oysters as a kid

Trixie: I think I had my first oyster when I was 21, and I'm no kidding. Yeah Something that sort of delights me is seeing You So many more really young kids who love oysters. like II'm seeing a growing number of young kids who are really into oysters and you couldn't have gotten me to go anywhere near an oyster at, you know, five or six years old, but I'll see at oyster festivals that there's a lot of young kids who are demanding oysters and, you know, it's great for them.

It's great for their health. And also, I feel like it's breaks down a little bit of,There's this stigma around seafood as a kid. I feel like there's this automatic, [00:37:00] like, Ick reaction as a kid to seafood, whether it's the smell or, or whether it's just socially trendy to not like seafood as a kid. but I think that there's a transition happening towards seafood that I think is really important We're recognizing it as a necessary food source for a growing population We are debunking a lot of misconceptions around What it is? It's impacts for our bodies. The FDA is recommending more and more that people eat more seafood. Um, but yeah, I would not have gone anywhere near an oyster probably until I was an adult and I know that's experienced for a lot of people. It's sort of a funky creature.

It's, you know, eating something that's raw isn't everyone's cup of tea. it's, it's definitely a little freaky. but then once you start enjoying them and appreciating them as this, like, incredibly unique, little morsel, it's sort of like a whole world opens [00:38:00] up.

 I'm not saying that I think everyone needs to eat oysters. I think that everyone should have opportunities to learn about oysters and decide for themselves. There's people who have tried oysters and will never really like them. I, my mom has tried oysters time and time again, and I don't think she's ever going to love them.

She's never going to be a great fan, but,

Kevin: There's still time to keep working on mom.

Trixie: Yeah, exactly. 

Kevin: Come on, Mom, try another one, chew it up, taste it. It's delicious. 

Trixie: Yeah. She's such a good sport about it every single time. But I think just like trying to educate people about what it is that aquaculture can provide and making sure that they have the right information to make that decision themselves.

Whether it is that they want to eat seafood or not, or whether oysters are their thing or not is, is really important. And it sort of trickles down from the work that we do to just educate, you know, holistically about the industry.

Kevin: Yeah. not everybody has to like everything, but it's, it's having the open mindedness and enough knowledge [00:39:00] to be willing to try it.

And if you try it and you don't like it, that's fine.

Right,

Kevin: So when you tried your first oyster What was your reaction?

Trixie: Oh I feel like I might've loaded it up with so much lemon juice Minionette that I didn't taste it. And I still kind of do that. It's really bad, but I do still kind of do that. It's sometimes I like my oyster to just kind of be a vehicle for Minionette. But, I think it wasn't, I think it might've been something that I, an experience that was overhyped that I, Was kind of like, oh, okay. You know, I did that. my experience wasn't characterized by any fear or disgust. It was a delicious oyster, um, that I enjoyed out on North Haven. And, I think, yeah, just like, A positive experience.

I wouldn't say mind blowing. I do love oysters, but, I don't know, this makes, this is sounds bad. This makes it sound like I'm not like,

Kevin: I think it actually makes you sound pretty typical. I [00:40:00] think that most people, when they first try an oyster, they do a few things. They load it up with and they swallow it whole immediately. Get it down as quickly as possible.

Trixie: I think the first oyster I had, I probably, my teeth probably didn't even touch it,

Kevin: And it's not until later when they realize, oh, this isn't so bad after all, that they cut down a little bit on some of the additives, and they chew it. And that's when you really begin to feel the, the progression of flavor through that one bite.

Trixie: Right. I think I'm still working towards that. now I'm working on doing some more chews. I don't do too many, I do a few, but.Ithat's what's also so cool about oysters is everyone has such a different way of eating them, whether it's no chews or chew it all up. It's sort of like, it reminds me of different ways that people taste wine and how bizarre some of those appear to be.  I have yet to try a, Grilled oyster, but I really want to, I just chicken out [00:41:00] every time I have an opportunity,

Kevin: Just fire up the grill in the backyard or whatever. 

Trixie: And I've got a grill.

Kevin: There you go. You're ready.so I'm sure that, that running the Maine Oyster Trail has its challenges.

Trixie: we haven't run into any major challenges. I would say one of our biggest challenges is making sure that the trail members staff is being briefed on that they are members of the oyster trail because I'll occasionally get messages in sort of the high summer season of folks who went to an oyster bar, hoping to check in on the trail and their waiter or waitress knew nothing about the trail or the codes or anything like that. That's something I think we're trying to think about how we can prevent, whether we can create a simple sort of guide to brief staff on the oyster trail.

I but just making sure that for people who are going out of their way to take part in the trail that they're having [00:42:00] a good experience and they're not left wondering, like, is the trail even active? Like, is this even real? you know, just making sure that, our oyster, trail, Destinations knows the code or the codes displayed properly. It's really not the end of the world.

Kevin: I did see in one of your social media posts, a scannable QR symbol. and then the code for that location underneath it. But you had conveniently blocked the code with a perfectly shucked oyster. It was a great image.

Trixie: Yeah, when a business wants to be added to the trail, they will, email us and I will send out a short form for them to put in all the necessary information like mailing address, things like that to get all the necessary information.

And then I will mail them a welcome guide just giving some explanation of the trail, my contact information, and then a laminated plaque with their unique four digit code on it. So I will keep track of those in a database, update them as needed, and [00:43:00] then that Card can either be tacked up or taped up in the restaurant or on board, the boat if it's a boat tour.

Ind so, I, I love going around places and seeing where someone is either conveniently kind of tucked it away so that someone walking by the restaurant wouldn't see it, but someone dining in the restaurant would see it. and 

Kevin: it's like a treasure hunt.

Trixie: Yeah, totally. And people love treasure hunts. Adults love treasure hunts.

Kevin: Yeah.

Trixie: So, Yeah, that's mostly the way, and that then also allows,the wait staff or the staff at whatever business to not have to remember a four digit code off the top of their head if it's displayed openly, and, and, or if someone can find it, if it's by the cash register or something like that, then it's, sort of self serve for the person trying to add it to their passport.

Kevin: Do you have any specific expansion plans with the, the Maine oyster trail? Something you want to add or do differently in the future?

Trixie: We haven't set an expansion plan yet, but I [00:44:00] think we'd just like to see the trail grow, I don't think we'll have any issue having people want to create their oyster passport and take part in the trail, but making sure that we're adding new destinations for those folks who've been doing it for a couple of years and want to see another sort of experience.

 Um, I've been thinking about whether we could partner with a local Maine artist, on,some new designs maybe a new prize or some oyster trail merch. I think we love to collaborate with other Maine people. And there's so many fantastic Maine artists who I think could produce something, maybe some kind of limited edition prize for an upcoming season that, that would, you Get some gin up some new energy. But yeah, I think really just continuing on this path. I want to continue to see it have this big impact and sort of have this reach a broad audience as it currently is.

Kevin: What's your five year plan? Where do you see yourself down the road?

Trixie: That's the most difficult [00:45:00] question. The five year, 10 year plan question. I think abstractly, I see myself working. If not in seafood, then in food. I think I've realized that is something that is so rewarding and important to me. I'm obviously not directly growing food, but I'm working to make sure that others have the right resources and have the ability to do that

and to be successful in doing that. And, I've just become so connected to that element of my work. I obviously care so deeply about the growers that I'm serving. I care about this, industry as something that's good for the environment. something that's good for Maine's economy. something that can be a tool for working waterfront resilience in the face of so many different threats.

But we're really talking about food and, I mean, the United States imports 85 percent of its seafood. And we have this opportunity [00:46:00] to domestically produce seafood and Maine is, You know, poised to do that really responsibly and sustainably. And I would just Love to be a part of that and making that happen from, you know, using my skills, whether it's creativity or trying to build relationships or whatever it may be. I think working in food and especially seafood as a growing frontier, would make me really happy.

Kevin: Well, I think you're going to be a big part of it. You already are, but I think you're going to be a lot bigger, and I can't wait to watch all of that unfold.

Trixie: Thank you.

Kevin: Trixie, this has been so interesting and it makes me want to, get my own passport and check it all out you should which I'm definitely going to do.

Trixie: You should.

Kevin: Maybe when it's a little bit warmer, but I can't wait so thank you so much and we'll look forward to seeing you on the beaches.

Trixie: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.

 That's it for this episode of OYSTER-ology.  Thanks to my guest Trixie Betz. Links to the [00:47:00] Maine Oyster Trail along with some of Trixie's visual storytelling are in the show notes. Please tell me what you think about this episode or anything else in our comments by clicking on the send us a text button at the top of the show note. I read and reply to everyone so don't be shy. And follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Thanks so much for listening. I'm your host and the Foodwalker, Kevin Cox. Join us again next time as we pry open the shell of another interesting OYSTER-ology topic.

[Bubbles]