Our History
Copps Island Oysters by Norm Bloom and Son, LLC was founded in 1994 by Norman Bloom. What began as a small operation with a single scow and a modest crew of three has grown into one of the largest oyster farms on the East Coast. Norman has been oystering since the age of ten and was lucky enough to have learned from two of the best in the business; his father, Norm Sr., and uncle, Hillard Bloom, twin brothers and co-founders of Tallmadge Brothers Oyster Company. The Bloom family’s history in the shellfish industry dates back to the early 1940s. Today, Norman works alongside his son, Jimmy, and his daughter, Jeanne, making Copps Island Oysters a fourth-generation, family-owned and operated shellfish farm.
Norm Bloom & Son, LLC was founded in 1994 in Norwalk, Connecticut by Norman Bloom. Norwalk has been called “Oyster Town” or the oyster capital of the world dating back to the late 1800s.
1950s
In the 1950s, a series of severe storms, hurricanes, and a lack of demand for new oyster seed caused the oyster industry to crash and put many oyster companies out of business. It was at this time that Norm Sr. and his twin brother, Hillard, known as the “Bloom brothers,” decided to invest in the then defunct industry. They began recultivating the abandoned shellfish beds, which ultimately led to the revitalization of the oyster industry in Connecticut.
1972
In 1972, Norm, Sr., and his twin brother, Hillard, purchased Tallmadge Brothers Oyster Company (est. 1875) and quickly gained recognition for putting Norwalk oysters back on the map. The company eventually controlled 22,000 acres of shellfish grounds from Greenwich to New Haven, Connecticut, and 2,000 acres in the Delaware Bay. The company also owned a shellfish packing plant (Bivalve Packing, Co.) in Port Norris, New Jersey, which is now owned by Norman, his brother Bobby and Steve Fleetwood.
1989
After the passing of Norm Sr. in 1989, Norman decided to leave the family business and branched off on his own. Starting from the bottom, and with help from close friends Gary Dillion, Henry Backer, and the Stabel family, Norman was driven to prove that he could make it on his own. In a matter of 20 years, Norm Bloom & Son, LLC has grown to be one of the largest privately-owned oyster farms on the East Coast. Today, Norman’s two children, Jimmy and Jeanne, are proud to be following in their father’s footsteps and look forward to continuing his legacy and dream of keeping the Connecticut shellfish industry alive.
The rest is history…
“I started off with one small boat. A little plywood boat, some small pieces of grounds and I just started farming them.”
NORMAN BLOOM
NORWALK, CT“Oyster Town” History
Native Americans
Oysters have been a way of life for those living along Connecticut’s coast since the earliest human inhabitations. The Connecticut shoreline has more tributary rivers per linear mile of coastline than any other region in the country. This unique geographical characteristic creates the most ideal environment for oysters to thrive. Upon their arrival to the region, Native Americans reaped the benefits of the rich coastline for all of its bounties, but found shellfish to be especially abundant and easily accessible. Intertidal flats and shorelines where oysters and clams tend to populate made a convenient source of protein for local tribes to gather. Archeologists have uncovered countless shell mounds left behind by Native American Tribes, teaching us that shellfish was a staple in the local diet.
Nineteenth & Twentieth Century
While the country was exploding with growth as it was heading into the Industrial Revolution, the Shellfish Industry was also advancing in its own way. The development of infrastructure such as roads and railways created opportunities for shellfish to expand to new and untapped markets. The equipment used for harvesting shellfish was also becoming continuously efficient. In 1874, Norwalk oysterman, Captain Peter Decker, introduced steam power in oyster dredging. It was such advances in shellfish harvesting technology that allowed the local industry to ship about three-fourths of the trans-Atlantic oyster export. In 1911, Connecticut’s oyster production peaked at nearly 25 million pounds, surpassing New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Nearly a decade after the oyster boom, the market began to decline in the 1950s due to overfishing and severe storms that ultimately completely wiped out a majority of the oyster grounds. This put many of the existing shellfish companies out of business. It took years of hard work and patience to restore the grounds and create market demand for oysters once again.
Today, many of the techniques and processes used in oyster farming in Connecticut are no different than the processes used centuries ago. Marine biologists have worked together with local oystermen to preserve the Long Island Sound in order to create a sustainable breeding and farming environment for local shellfish products. The shellfish industry is currently enjoying a steady recovery, bringing hundreds of thousands of oysters to the marketplace nationwide on an annual basis. With new regulations in place and advanced aquaculture technologies, Connecticut’s oyster industry is thriving once again.