Common Name	Eastern Oysters	Conservation Notes
Scientific Name	Crassostrea virginica	Sustainability Ratings/Certifications
Market Names	Bluepoint Oyster, American Oyster	Buying Tips
Sushi Name	Kaki	Health/Nutrition

    FIND SUPPLIERS NOW 

OYSTER MARKET ALERT - updated June 2011

Last spring it was the oil spill. This spring it was all that muddy water. Louisiana’s oyster industry can’t seem to catch a break. Things are so dire down on the bayou that for the first time since 1982, when oyster production from the Chesapeake Bay began its steep decline, Louisiana is no longer the top oyster-producing state in the U.S. Last year’s oil spill sliced Louisiana’s oyster harvest in half, from about 15 million pounds of shucked meats to less than 8 million pounds. Washington state, which produces about 9 million pounds of oyster meats, is now the top producer, a position it could hold for some time the way things are going down south.

The problem this spring was the record flooding of the Mississippi River, which forced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to open spillways to prevent widespread flooding of major population centers like New Orleans. All that freshwater is deadly to many of the state’s oyster beds. “It’s like Mother nature is waterboarding us,” Greg Voisin, an eighth generation oyster producer told the Wall Street Journal. It was still too early to gauge the damage in early June, but some Louisiana oystermen fear the state’s production could be down by another 50 percent. And since oysters take three years to grow, it will be quite awhile before oyster houses in Louisiana, which used to produce 60 percent of the U.S. production of eastern oysters, are busy shucking again.

The dismal state of Louisiana’s oyster industry has already driven prices of shucked select grade meats up from $6.50/lb. to almost $8/lb. Meanwhile, oyster producers in Washington, while empathizing with their counterparts in Louisiana, are enjoying record high prices for their Pacific oysters.  A dozen medium live oysters are now selling to distributors for $3.75, up from $2.50 before last spring’s oil spill.

Conservation Notes

Advantages: Most of the U.S. oyster production comes from coastal fisheries and shellfish farms stretching from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and in the Pacific Northwest. The majority of Eastern oysters are collected from the wild, although farmed Eastern oysters are a good environmental choice. In Florida, it is common to use tongs with long handles and rake-like ends to gather Eastern oysters in marine areas, resulting in less damage to habitats than dredging. Oysters raised in suspension systems don’t require dredging to harvest them. On the West Coast, most oysters are farmed using hatchery produced seed and harvested by hand.

Challenges: Wild Eastern oysters were once abundant in America, particularly in the Chesapeake Bay, but disease, overfishing, and habitat degradation have caused declines in this population. According to the Blue Ocean Institute, dredges that harvest partially or entirely buried wild Eastern oysters generally cause worse habitat damage than bottom trawls, decreasing biodiversity and killing non-targeted species. Oyster dredging is most common in the Gulf States.

Sustainability Ratings and Certifications

	Seafood Watch	SeaChoice	FishWise	Blue Ocean Institute	New England Aquarium	Marine Stewardship Council
Worldwide,  Farmed off bottom	Best Choice	Best Choice	Best Choice	Green	A List
Worldwide,  Farmed dredge	Best Choice	Best Choice	Best Choice	Green	B List
U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Wild-caught	Good Alternative	Some Concerns	Good Alternative
Canada, Wild-caught	Good Alternative	Some Concerns	Good Alternative

Rating Explanation

Seafood Watch has ratings for wild Eastern oysters from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and from Canada. Seafood Watch and Blue Ocean Institute both rate farm-raised Eastern Oysters worldwide in a single assessment.

Buying Tips

• Oysters should be bought live and smell like the sea, not sulfurous
• A good supply of live half shell oysters and oyster meat is available year-round
• Check for freshness by tapping on the shells to see whether they close
• Oysters can be kept up to two weeks after collection at 36–38F in a breathable container
• Look for the origin and collection date on a live-oyster shipment, which are required by law
• A variety of volume measures are used, so buyers recommend insisting on easily quantifiable units such as by the piece or by the pound
• Usually Olympia oysters cost the most, followed by European, Kumamotos, Pacific, and Eastern
• The meat from oysters grown off the bottom in farms tends to be higher, making it a good substitute for dredged oysters

Nutrition and Health

 *Oysters from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico may carry Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, which is naturally ocurring, but the concentrations increase during summer months and can be harmful to humans with compromised immune systems. Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) comes from eating oysters that are contamined with toxic algae, also known as "red tide" from the color associated with the algal blooms.

Acknowledgements

• Seafood Watch by Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Blue Ocean Institute
• SeaChoice
• Seafood Choices Alliance
• Environmental Defense Fund
• Healthaliciousness.com