Oyster Blog — Oyster World

We've never noticed before how colorful Olympia oyster shells are. They're full of earth tones: browns, deep purples, and mossy greens. There are places on the farm where Olympias are abundant. They live on and amongst the larger Pacific oysters. These particular Olys had the misfortune to be attached to Pacific oysters that came up to shore to be shucked. We pried about 50 of them off the Pacifics, ate a couple, and put the rest out on the beach. If you're at all interested in learning more about the history of the Olympia oyster, we highly recommend Rowan Jacobsen's...

Yes, but they shouldn't. The AP reports that the Washington State Department of Health closed 400 acres of commercial shellfish beds on the Skokomish River (which drains the southern flanks of the Olympics) after they found human waste, left by recreational fishermen, in the bushes lining the riverbank. Apparently competition for fishing space was so fierce that fishermen were reluctant to abandon their posts to walk up the bank to the portable toilets.

Noctiluca, the dinoflagellate that caused a red algal bloom in the Canal last month, courtesy of Pete Becker. Oyster larvae, courtesy of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

At first glance, this seems both ridiculous and sad: To test whether or not oysters in France are safe to eat, officials inject three mice with oyster liquid. If two of the mice die, then the oyster producing region is shut down. This year a failed mouse test caused the closure of the Archachon Bay region, near Bordeaux, for the 5th consecutive summer. But farmers claim the test is "meaningless" and " a sham and a fraud" and, in defiance of the health department, are continuing to harvest and sell oysters. Read more here. Hama Hama Oysters: Not Tested on Animals.

Check out this Seattle Times article about low ocean pH and the oyster industry in Willapa Bay. The video that accompanies the article is pretty good, especially the very last bit, where an 8 year old oysterman steals the spotlight.