MERSEA OYSTER-DREDGING MATCH: STAYING NATIVE
…..Except that for some owners, simple racing wasn’t enough and, back in the 1990s, they decided on an annual event to revive and preserve the old skill of fishing under sail. In its first year, it was a trawling competition but, thereafter, it became the Mersea Oyster-Dredging Match.
The prime mover back then was traditional sailing smack enthusiast Charles Harker, later assisted by oysterman William Baker, who has himself now run the event for a decade or so. The aim these days is to promote the local commercial oyster fisheries and businesses, and engage the local community, celebrity chefs, shellfish industry representatives, and shellfish policy makers…..
