Minterbrook Oyster Company is a progressive Shellfish company  located in Gig Harbor, WA. Established in 1931 and under present ownership since 1954, Minterbrook Oyster Company has sourced its  shell fish from the pristine waters of the Pacific Northwest  and has recently added shellfish Products from  Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

Anticipating and answering our customers needs is our top priority.  In today’s market, this means being more than a reliable source of  quality shell fish products that are  a reasonably priced – it also means implementing ways to provide safer, healthier and more earth friendly products. Our shell fish products are derived from strong wild stocks to ensure a healthy sustainable resource.

Minterbrook’s production and processing is conducted utilizing environmentally, earth friendly methods. Looking at all aspects from phasing in safer environmentally friendly food grade hydraulic fluids , greases, anti freezes and lubricants in our delivery trucks and marine vessels,phasing out our 2 stroke boat motors and converting to 4 stroke motors that are more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, implementing sanitation procedures utilizing biodegradable products, working with suppliers who support the use of sustainable resources and work to miminalize excess packaging materials.

Knowledge is strength A positive attitude and healthy environment is a necessity for our spirit to grow.



Our Packaging
Environmentally friendly, shatter resistant plastic containers that are recyclable and resilient to  loss due to breakage. Tamper evident plastic lids ensure that our products remain as pure when they reach the consumer as when they were packed. As you know, Minterbrook Oyster Company has always produced a superior quality product and has backed it with prompt and friendly customer service.  Now, our new, value-added packaging makes us even more customer friendly.

We have seen a dramatic increase in our sales since implementing the new packaging and believe that, with our product in your inventory, you too will see a dramatic increase in your oyster sales.

Building blocks for the future
Communication is key and over the years, the Minterbrook Team has developed a tremendous respect and appreciation for a number of regulatory agencies that inspect and monitor the activities of the shell fish industry. The State Of Washington Department of Health Office Of Food Safety And Shellfish Programs, Water Quality, the Food & Drug Administration, DNR, Department Of Fish And Wild Life, Forestry, Pierce County Health, DOE, to name a few, have been  a  positive influence on our company and our team members.  Taking time to explain and educate the how’s and whys of various regulations, enabling our management teams to see the visions and understand the  directives that are the requirements of today and regulatory concerns  that will be requirements for tomorrow.  This understanding has enabled us to develop our vision for a healthier environment and sustainable shell fish products  grown in the environment as nature had intended, the clean clear waters of the Pacific Northwest and Virginia's Eastern Shore.

It is this vision that has enabled Minterbrook to create healthier, safer, 100 % natural shellfish products

The Minterbrook Advantage
Minterbrook Oyster Company harvests shellfish ONLY  after written  approval has been obtained from the Washington State Department of Health Office Of Food Safety And Shellfish Programs  ensuring product is sourced from harvest locations tested and shown to have healthy, clean, growing waters and thus receiving approval for commercial  harvest.  Our harvest locations  and product sources stretch from the Canadian Border to Southern Oregon giving Minterbrook Customers a tremendous market advantage.  A continuous, uninterrupted supply of superior quality shellfish products year around, and the knowledge that they can approach a potential account and feel secure in their ability to source and our ability to provide the necessary product  requirements.

Minterbrook has quality Shell fish available when others are closed due to bio toxins or water quality issues. 

We love to respond to a request and hear, wow we can really do that!

We are like no other shell fish company
Minterbrook oyster Company and the Minterbrook Team derive great strength and value from our  50 + years of experience in the aquaculture business.  It is from this platform we derive our knowledge base, never loosing site of who and what we are.  It is an understanding that from our history comes our evolution. Thought and ideas evolve thru continued learning and are the building blocks of understanding for the world  tomorrow.

There is a direct correlation between  success in the future and the evolution  and implementation of understanding  derived from the life lessons  of  the past.Our message is simple, One world One life make the connection we did. Keep things simple and natural and take a grassroots approach making healthy natural products that are 100% natural.

Minterbrook shellfish products are produced from the Strongest wild  stocks available. Our shell fish are initiallyReared in controlled hatchery environments which have been designed specifically to promote for us the best of the wild natural species.  It is not an issue of quantity we are looking for quality stocks to ensure that the beauty of the natural shellfish is maintained. We focus on the quality and health of brood stock that is spawned and develops into our market shellfish. We do not utilize steroids or growth hormones of any kind.  We look for good strong shellfish to propagate. We are careful not to purchase larvae or seed from hatcheries that propagate for volume. We are proud to work with a hatchery who looks at the shellfish cycle in an entirely different way.  Yes it takes longer to spawn these hardy wild shellfish but the extra effort is worth the wait. These shellfish are less susceptible to disease, grow bigger, faster, have a better meat color and have beautiful shell development.  They are amazing and incredibly healthy.  If you start with junk you get junk and in the case of seed you truly get what you pay for.

The extra investment is worth it. 



OUR HISTORY

When Harold Wiksten grew up along the scenic beaches of Minter Bay, a pristine lagoon located off Carr Inlet in the southern Puget Sound, he probably showed more interest in skipping the oysters than in raising them. During the summers and on school holidays, he and other local boys worked at Minterbrook Oyster Company, which was founded and then owned by Hubert and Mary Secor. Even Harold can't say when his passing interest grew into something more, but in 1943 he joked with his employers, "One day I'm going to buy you out."

And in 1954, he and business partner John Barr did just that. In the interval, Wiksten continued his college education and pursued his interest in shellfish research through employment as a biological aide for the State Fisheries Department at Purdy. When Wiksten and Barr purchased the small company, the only assets were a few rudimentary buildings and oddments of machinery including a landing craft, an old tugboat, a panel truck and an ancient tractor. Within a few years, Wiksten purchased his partner's interest in the company and became the sole proprietor.

Today, with harvest grounds stretching from the Canadian border to Southern Oregon, Minterbrook Oyster Company operates six days per week serving national chains and wholesalers. A fleet of refrigerated trucks delivers to local markets and to Sea Tac International Airport.

Minterbrook remains a family operation - owned and operated on a daily basis by Wiksten and his family. The values that governed Wiksten when he purchased the plant are those that continue to govern its operation today - hard work, excellent customer service and dedication to the practice and to the science of oyster farming. To this end, Minterbrook utilizes the most up-to-date processing and packaging techniques and has forged strong ties to local and national health agencies - becoming one of the most outspoken voices for the preservation of water quality in Western Washington.