

In early May, Buffaloe took over Zeller’s role of president of Captree Clam. The two have a lot in common: They both understand that success takes smarts, a little bit of luck and a great deal of hard work. While Zeller spun tales that involved a whole lot of hustle, Buffaloe told a story of getting out on the water to bring in some extra cash for his growing family, which is what ultimately put the men in each other’s orbits. Contrary to the loquacious Zeller, Buffaloe is a more understated presence. An affable guy with a penchant for storytelling, Zeller is also a man in transition. Bags upon bags of clams line the floor of his Captree Clam facility in West Babylon, where they are mechanically sorted by size and graded for distribution. Jermaine Owens holds a 10-pound bluefish caught in the Peconic Bay.Ĭredit: Randee Daddona Bill Zeller and Marcus Buffaloe, Captree Clamīill Zeller, one of Long Island’s biggest clam wholesalers, has been buying clams from scores of baymen on the North and South shores for the past 50 years. 11).īy clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. 28) and Port Jefferson on Sundays from 9 to 2 (until Nov. 8) Sag Harbor on Saturdays from 9 to 1 (until Oct. Jermaine Owens of North Fork Seafood (63 ) sells at the following farmers markets: East Hampton on Fridays from 9 to 1 (until Sept. “The freedom of creating my own income and doing it my way is worth a billion dollars,” he said. This summer, you’ll find Owens at weekend farmers markets in East Hampton, Sag Harbor and Port Jefferson-and you can keep tabs on what he’s catching on social media. “So I could cut through the night.” Soon, high-end restaurants such as Leon 1909 on Shelter Island started contacting him (“I like talking to chefs and owners”) and the business has continued to evolve. We were all helping each other.” Owens offered home delivery of ultrafresh, impeccably filleted local fish and other seafood, and the business skyrocketed at the height of the pandemic, Owens was delivering to between 300 and 400 people across the East End. I made some calls and got out my vacuum sealer. “I realized I knew all these people with boats, and I had their numbers in my phone. “I walked into the supermarket, and there wasn’t much there,” he said. Things took a turn a month later when the pandemic hit. His ability to pivot came in handy when he and his longtime life partner Danielle Cullen decided to open North Fork Seafood in 2020. Out on a fishing boat, he bags every catch possible this time of year, that includes local tuna and swordfish, triggerfish and mahi-mahi. Owens is athletic and moves with the agility and reflexes of a shortstop. “I followed what was pulling me,” he explained. “It’s so important on the water to learn to deal with people, to troubleshoot.” That, along with an early life filled with uncertainty, a grandmother who “could turn 15 cents into a dollar” and a few mentors along the way set him on a path marked by resilience, faith and a positive attitude.

“I got to know the boats, the guys,” Owens said.
#Oxygen filter for fish bowl how to
By age 8 or so, he was scrubbing out buckets, and at 10, he knew how to start up the diesel engine on the F/V Peconic Star, out of Greenport.

Owens, 46, got his start in the business-and his work ethic-early on, when he would accompany his mother while she dropped off lunch for his dad, who filleted fish on a loading dock.
#Oxygen filter for fish bowl professional
There’s a professional ice machine on one wall that can produce 1,000 pounds of crushed ice in less than 24 hours the tools of his trade on the opposite wall have a stark, utilitarian drama. I met Jermaine Owens in his garage-turned-cut shop, grottolike and cool, the pristine concrete floor slightly pitched for easy cleanup. Here we introduce readers to just a few of them, from a second-generation fisherman and “cutter” who grew a following during the pandemic to a behind-the-scenes mainstay of the clamming industry. For the Long Islanders who make their living from sound and ocean, bays and inlets and salt marsh, their stories, their ways of seeing the world, explain and unite this abundant, seafood-centric region.
