Daily Climate: Rain and sleet smack the surface of Ninigret Pond as oyster farmer Jules Opton-Himmel fumbles with a stalled outboard motor. Not much is going his way this morning.
More than 350 oyster farmers now cultivate bottom leases in the shallow waters along the Northeastern seaboard, up from handfuls 25 years ago.
He's under pressure to harvest on this mid-February day to make an on-time afternoon delivery to a local raw bar. On-board, he's trying to impress a top chef from one of Newport's most exclusive...