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Description: Pacific oysters are large, fastgrowing,
cupped oysters with deep, elongated,
thick and rough shells. The shell colour ranges
from muddy brown to light gray and contains some
purple streaks and spots. The meat is creamy
white with a dark fringe around the mantle at
times, although the colour of the meat as well as
the shell can vary by region and season. While
the oyster can grow to over 30 cm (12 inches) it is
normally harvested at 15 cm (6 inches) or less.
The mild, sweet flavour of live Pacific oysters is
highly valued. The texture is firm and plump.
Product Forms: Oysters are predominantly
available live-in-shell, although fresh shucked
meats, in-shell-frozen, frozen meats and smoked
meats may also be available.
Availability: Oysters are harvested year-round
and accordingly are available throughout the year.
However, they are particularly best raw during the
fall and winter months because they spawn in the
summer months and as a result become softer and
more fatty during this time.
Buying Tips: When buying live oysters, ensure
their shells are hard and closed. Open shells should
close tightly when tapped. If they don't close,
they are dead and should be avoided since bacteria
multiply very quickly in dead shellfish, making
them dangerous to eat.
Fresh shucked oysters should be plump, have good
colour, smell fresh and be packaged in clear oyster
liquid. Overall, oysters should also have a natural
sea smell and should be avoided if they smell
sulphurous or feel slimy.
Storing Tips: Live oysters should be stored in
a refrigerator cup-side down and covered with a
damp towel. Live oysters need to breathe and
therefore will not survive when stored in buckets
of water, plastic bags or airtight containers.
Store both live and fresh oysters in the refrigerator
at 0°C (32°F) to 10°C (50°F).
Refrigerate shucked oysters in their liquor (oyster
juices). Properly refrigerated oysters will stay
alive up to 7 days after being harvested.
Preparation/Usage: The sooner Pacific
oysters are used, the better they will taste.
Oysters are particularly popular served raw on
the half-shell.
Frozen oysters should be thawed in the refrigerator
and once thawed, they should not be refrozen.
Oysters in the shell can be served raw, baked,
steamed, grilled or in specialty dishes such as
Oysters Rockefeller. Shucked Pacific oysters can
be served raw, sautéed, steamed, grilled, or used
in soups and stews or other specialty dishes.
Pacific oysters require very little cooking time and
should be heated slowly to avoid them turning to
rubber. Regardless of the cooking method used,
they are done when the mantle starts to curl.
Area of Origin and Range of Availability: Originally from Japan, the Pacific oyster is now the
most widely cultured oyster in the world, harvested
predominantly in the Pacific Ocean.
Harvest Volume: The average annual production
in British Columbia is approximately 5,500 tonnes.
In 2001, however, 7,300 tonnes were harvested.
Harvest/Cultivation Method: While some
wild oyster beds exist in British Columbia, virtually
all of the commercial Pacific oyster harvest in British
Columbia is farmed. There are three main aquaculture
techniques used. The first is off-bottom culture, in
which floating longlines, rafts and fences are used.
In this method, the oyster
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growers string cultch (material that oysters attach themselves to)
onto wire or nylon rope and suspend it above the bottom
of the ocean in time to collect setting larvae. The
oysters are then grown in suspension until they
attain the desired length. Once separated from the
cultch, the oysters are either planted on the ocean
bottom or placed on trays suspended in the water
to strengthen their shells. Another cultivation method
is bottom culture, in which natural spat (young oyster
seed), hatchery seed or sets are used. A third method
uses large-scale floating nurseries called FLUPSYs.
These floating upwelling systems can accommodate
10 million or more single oyster seed in screened
bins straddling a raceway.
Processing Method: After being harvested by
hand or machine from only approved areas, the
oysters are culled to return undersized oysters and
old shells to the beds. In registered processing
plants the oysters are then cleaned, graded and
packed for shipping.
Markets: Approximately 80% of Pacific oysters
are exported to the United States and Asia.
Sustainability: In recognition that shellfish
farming is an environmentally sustainable activity
with the potential to create significant economic
opportunities for British Columbian residents, the
BC provincial government ended a decade-long
moratorium on new tenures with the introduction of
the Shellfish Development Initiative. The government
together with shellfish farmers and other
industry members are in the process of developing
a set of mandatory operational standards. In
addition, a detailed planning process is part of this
initiative whereby coastal communities, First Nations
communities, government and the shellfish industry
are working together to determine the most
appropriate sites for shellfish aquaculture within
each community and to strike a balance between
the potentially competing resource uses of the British
Columbian coast.
Historical and Anecdotal Information:
Oysters have a long history of nourishing the human
race and being perceived as an aphrodisiac as the
Romans were noted to enthusiastically eat them
2,000 years ago. It is likely that oysters were the
first sea animal to be transported from one area to
another and cultivated as food. The Pacific oyster
fishery started in British Columbia in the 1920s
when seed from Japan was first introduced into west
coast waters. It is now the most widely cultivated
oyster in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.
| NUTRITIONAL
INFORMATION |
| Per
3.5 oz/100 grams of raw edible portion |
 |
| Calories |
81 |
| Total
fat |
2.3
g |
| Saturated
fat |
0.5
g |
| Protein |
9.5
g |
| Cholesterol |
50.0
mg |
| Sodium |
106.0
mg |
|
|
Source: USDA |
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For Additional Information And A List
Of Current Product Suppliers, Contact:
| BC Shellfish Growers Association
350B Robson Street,
Nanaimo, British Columbia,
Canada V9R 2V5
Phone: 250.714.0804
Fax: 250.714.0805
email: info@bcsga.ca
website: www.bcsga.ca |
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