Seattle Press on Line - Oyster Farming in Washington's Lower Left Corner

Sandy Bradley's Potluck

Oyster Farming in Washington's Lower Left Corner

By Sandy Bradley

Apr 05, 2000 -- As an oyster farmer, I've become increasingly aware of misconceptions about this tasty bivalve. First, it is not a vegetable, though it has about the same IQ. There are other issues I feel compelled to clear up once and for all.

Willapa Bay (lower left corner of Washington state), being mostly very shallow, has warm enough water in the summer for the oysters to spawn, which they do exogenously (i.e., the anonymous way). The gametes join to form the zygotes, called spat. The microscopic spat swim around for two weeks, hopefully attaching to a place they can thrive. Unlike mussels, which can move around and re-attach, the oysters only get one chance to homestead.

The oysters that are farmed in the bay are not indigenous, but are originally from Japan, and have been in the bay since they were imported in 1928. They have taken over the eco-niche once occupied by the native Olympia oyster, which was harvested by indigenous peoples. Though tasty enough, it only grew to about the size of a silver dollar. The oysters which are currently harvested grow about an inch a year. Growth is dependent on the level of nutrients, the water temperature, and their position in the tidal zone (deeper oysters are in the water longer each day than the shallow residents). Oysters are not unionized, like bees. It's every individual for itself, so a stake or piling which hosts them will get a random aggregation of different ages, growing around each other, crowding some to death, seeking better access to their watery phytoplankton soup. Though they can't move from their attachment spot, they have garnered another enviable skill: Each spring every oyster gets to change its gender. If there is any thinking in the bivalve brain, it is all spent on this choice: What sex should I be this year?

For Nahcotta Oyster Farm, raising them consists of pushing three-foot PVC pipes halfway into the mud, which will catch dozens of generations over as many years.

We have 40,000 stakes on seven acres of tide flats. Less demanding than the usual livestock, feeding and watering is done by the tide. They don't need horseshoeing, grooming, vitamins, or Mozart. The age-old question, "what noise annoys an oyster?" remains unanswered. For many years, commercial oyster farming on a very large scale has been done very differently. The big oyster factories put out piles of old shells to collect the spat, then place those shells on the bottom in growing beds. Due to erosion in the watershed from careless forestry and agricultural practices, the Bay has collected a muddy bottom, which is prime habitat for burrowing shrimp. The shrimp tunnel in the mud and soften it, so the oysters sink, which makes mealtime less effective--they die. The oyster growers have battled the shrimp with poisons for years, to no avail, and the silting continues with the logging. To harvest bottom-grown oysters they dredge the muddy bottom, further moving the silt around. The lucky oysters grow on our stakes, where they get fresh food and water with every tide.

Our farming is governed by the tides. Only at low tides can we walk all the way out to the stakes. The tides are most extreme (highest and lowest) during the full and new moons, which is when we harvest. We try to harvest enough to store some in shallower water through the neap tides in between.

So we alternate a week of harvesting with a week of looking after the garden, etc. When you come, you can do U-pick! Bring a snug-fitting pair of knee boots and a bucket at low tide. You'll walk 1/4 mile out onto the tideflats, the mud sucking ever more insistently at your boots. There will be moments when you think you are going to walk ahead, so your center of gravity moves forward, but the mud holds your feet in place. I rather enjoy being muddy, anyway. You'll wear sturdy rubber gloves so the sharp shells don't cut short your piano career, and pry clusters of multi-generational oysters off the stakes with a screwdriver and into your five-gallon bucket. The next satisfying part comes after you've brought them to shore: The clumps have to be pried apart into individuals.

Success has a wonderful cracking sound of letting go, occasionally accompanied by the sound of some of the oysters breaking. We eat those we break. Then rinse off all the mud and worms, and get ready for dinner. Oysters are a taste worth acquiring, especially when you're an oyster farmer.

Want a shucking lesson?

Reader Comments

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Holly Grieve	Jul 30, 2002	missoula Montana	Corn Stove Distributor
Corn Burning stoves work the best with a hand full of crushed oyster shells in a 50# bag of corn seed. Can you tell me if there is an outlet where I can purchase oyster shells. Thank You Holly Grieve


kay	Mar 13, 2003	CA	tourism
Hello, Could you please send me your address and phone no.? When is a good time to visit your farm to see some action in the summer? Thanks.


Miss Nemeth	Apr 02, 2003	White Pigeon Schools	Teacher
My class and I would like to get some information as to how an oyster changes gender. We are trying to answer a trivia question as to what animal can change gender. Most of my student guessed Earthworm. Earthworm is a great guess since an earthworm is both male and female. But wrong, because an Earthworm does not change from one gender to another. So if you can enlighten us with any information on how an Oyster changes gender, or why an Oyster changes gender, we would greatly appreciate it. Miss Nemeth's class


Kelly	Jan 03, 2004	Lakewood WA	student
My science experiment is to show how oysters filter water. I do not know what I can put in the water for the oysters to filter. Can you help?


kenn	Jul 18, 2004	Olympia	Network Eng
I would like to learn more by coming to see your operation in action, if that possible. What is the best directions and time? Do you harvest goeducks too? Thanks, Kenn


Daniel may	Mar 07, 2005	concord ca usa	managment theatre corp.
i have a grandpa named holly...who lives in la jolla cali..soon missoula montana...and ive heard stories about corn stoves...is that you grandpa?lol Danny boy


Ed Emes	Mar 27, 2005	Washington DC	Investments
We are looking for crushed (not too fine) white oyster shells for garden paths. I grew up in a clam area where they were used, and we don't have much available here.


Marilyn West	Jul 02, 2005	Tacoma, WA	WSF worker
Can a peron buy the osyter shells for their garden?


ViAnna Koenig	Aug 05, 2005	San Jose California	teac her
Where can I buy oyster shells for garden paths? Thank you in advance for your answer.


C H Chin	Sep 27, 2005	Montreal, Canada	engr
I am trying to find some companies who are producing oyster extract commercially. I did not find too much from the internet seraching. I hope you can give some hints how to locate them. Any hely is greatly appreciated. Thanks


Ed Halloran	Nov 03, 2005	Langley,Whidbey Island, WA	Retired
I too am looking for oyster shells for garden paths. Would someone identify a source around on Whidbey Island, and if not, somewhere in the Seattle area. I would appreciate the information very much. Thank you.

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