Tide to Table
A hands-on culinary experience along the edge of land and salty sea on Prince Edward Island’s eastern shore
On ocean coasts, time isn't just kept by clocks. It's also kept by the tides, which come and go on a regular schedule every six hours or so.
In Prince Edward Island, known as Canada's Food Island, the ocean recedes twice each day to reveal a feast hidden within the intertidal zone. Clams rest quietly in the muddy sand, crabs scuttle from pool to pool, and oysters cling to their beds in brackish bays.
As the water shifts, so do the people: foragers and fishers, chefs and curious travellers all move in step with the rhythms of the sea on a scavenger hunt for the freshest shellfish.
Along the banks of the Broughton River in the eastern part of the province, visitors gather at Jim Conohan's house for a hands-on tidal experience.
Jim and his wife, Gen, operate Along the Edge Experiences. From June to October, they offer interactive experiences, from clam digging to oyster tonging. Their famous Beachcombers Clam Boil is a feast for the senses: a walk along the red beach, a lesson in responsible shellfish harvesting, a meal of fresh seafood cooked in the salt water taken right from the river.
"I put my neck on the line any time to say that we got the best mussels and lobsters and clams in the world here, you know," Jim says.
Besides the world's freshest shellfish, the star of the show is Jim, who delights guests with tales culled from his 40-plus years as a fisherman. He's a natural storyteller, captivating guests with his stories of life on the boats. Like the time he almost drowned fishing for rock crab, but that's a tale best heard first-hand.
When it comes to clamming, Jim is something of a celebrity, especially with the kids. Several years ago he appeared on an episode of the River & Wilder Show, a popular family-friendly YouTube channel. His friendly and easy-going personality shone through and he endeared himself to a whole generation of children.
"There's people that come from all over the world and I like to ask them 'what brought you guys here?' Well, one lady said that she told her daughter if she passed school, she can have her pick to wherever she wants to go. And she passed and she picked come to Prince Edward Island to go do a clam dig with Jim Conohan," Jim says with a laugh. "And so I sign a lot of autographs and take pictures with kids and, yeah, it's good."
What most guests don’t realize is just how unlikely this all is — not the clamming or the seafood boil, but Jim himself, standing at the centre of it all, cracking jokes and telling stories with ease. For much of his life, Jim struggled with a debilitating stutter.
“It was hard living,” he says. “Not being able to say what you wanted to and talk.”
He grew up on PEI, the youngest of eleven. He started fishing at 14, leaving school to join his father at sea. Over the next four decades, his life was shaped by long hours on the water, often sleeping just a handful of hours a week during peak season. He dreamt of leading a different lifestyle.
He eventually bought a piece of land on the Broughton River — a quiet place with a bounty of clams — and began to imagine a new life. What started as an idea for a roadside shellfish stand evolved into a series of immersive coastal experiences, thanks in part to encouragement from tourism leaders who saw the magic in Jim’s knowledge, stories, and hospitality.
It was a leap not just in lifestyle, but in voice. Leading tours and sharing stories with strangers was once unthinkable. Today, it’s the heartbeat of the business.
Jim’s wife, Gen — who first visited as a guest and eventually fell in love with both the island and the man — now runs the business alongside him. Together, they’ve built something deeply personal and widely beloved, weathering pandemic shutdowns and financial challenges with the same steady resilience Jim once brought to work at sea.
These days, visitors to Along the Edge can choose from a handful of immersive seafood experiences, all rooted in Jim’s deep knowledge of the ocean and his easy island charm.
On his Beachcombers Clam Boil, guests follow Jim down the shoreline, learning to spot telltale holes in the sand and dig for their own dinner. Others may opt for the Mussel & Lobster Shore Boil, where Jim shows off mussel socks and lobster traps before steaming the catch over an open flame — in salt water, of course. And for those curious about the Island’s oyster culture, the Tong & Shuck experience lets them tong oysters from Jim’s dory and shuck them — no swimming required.
Every visit includes storytelling, a good meal cooked in the “best salt water in the world,” and the chance to purchase one of Jim’s hand-carved artisan coasters made from Eastern Tamarack, commonly called Juniper locally.
At Along the Edge, everything is rooted in rhythm — of tides, of seasons, of second chances.
Just like the tides, Jim found his moment to rise again — and now, he shares that sense of timing and transformation with every visitor who comes looking for a taste of the Island, and leaves with something more.
Canada. Crafted by Canadians.
