Discover-
our farmgate
The Oyster Farm Shop is the farmgate for aquaculture producers on Kangaroo Island,working closely with local abalone/marron/oyster farmers and fishermen. Visitors can also see aquaculture produce including the fresh, local oysters being processed in our processing facility at the rear of our farm shop most days.
As dedicated custodians of the environment and waters around the island, we have been involved in recent reef restoration projects in island waters, supporting local Dolphin Watch research and conducted our own research & development around extending shelf life of iconic island aquaculture produce.
Situated across the road from oyster sheds on the wharf, the premises has views of local oyster leases out on the water providing an authentic seaside experience. On most week days, you can watch the crew bring in boat loads of freshly harvested oysters ready for grading or sales!​
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Our Harvest of the Day Menu has been developed over the past 13 years using the Australian Sustainable Seafood Guide as a resource. This seasonal menu is focused on sustainable, seasonal aquaculture and seafood produce from the island and local regional waters including the Coorong and Spencer Gulf. The core products being Oysters, Abalone, Marron and King George Whiting. With the hero dish, The AquaPlatter, a share platter showcasing the island’s core aquaculture products and house-made value-adds. All value-adds are made at the farm shop including Sheoak smoked oysters, smoked oyster dip, smoked mussels, smoked fish, Kilpatrick sauce and condiments..
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The Oyster Farm Shop is where we showcase not only products from our farm but also iconic aquaculture and sustainable seafood products from the Kangaroo Island region including:
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Pacific Oysters
Angasi oysters
Kangaroo Island Abalone & Abalini
Wild/Farmed Marron
King George Whiting
Southern Calamari and more...
History of the Farm Shop
Historically the local oyster farm in American River had operated harvests and sales to wholesale customers mostly off island during the Pacific Oyster Season, April- November. Then the farm would stop selling and close during the summer months when the pacific oysters went to spawn.
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When Ken and Amanda bought the farm in 2008, they decided to restock part of the farm with Summer Oysters or spawnless so that we had product over the summer months for visitors to the island to enjoy. It takes 18 months to 2 years for oysters to grow to the first saleable size and this was started in 2010.
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In July 2010, the farm was hit by a ‘1 in 30 year storm’ the locals called it from the NE which wiped out some of the aging infrastructure and, in a year where they had filled the farm to its capacity, resulting in 50% of the stock being lost. So it was even more important for them to be able to sell directly to the customer as they did not have the quantities to ship wholesale pallet loads off island due to the storm.
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In 2010 Ken and Amanda opened The Oyster Farm Shop to offer an authentic farmgate experience to visitors on Kangaroo Island. The vision was to create a ‘must visit’ tourist destination to promote and showcase the best of Kangaroo Island’s aquaculture and sustainable seafood from the region and, in doing so, improve the accessibility and availability of local produce to visitors and increase visitation to American River. Unable to retail on the wharf due to legislation, the building the shop had been empty for 8-9 years. So they bought it and put a sign out.
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Slowly over the years their products have grown in reputation and The Oyster Farm Shop is now a ‘must visit’ foodie experience with oysters coming in fresh off the boat and shucked on the premises. The farm shop produces a range of smoked products including oysters, mussels and fish and were the first outlet on the island to retail Kangaroo Island Abalone products. New offerings to visitors include the Shucking Experience, Secret Oyster Bar and Sashimi Platter!