Thread: Oysters are not just an aphrodisiac and source of pearls

It's a good plan...

My grandfather mentioned oysters in East London. They were a staple food of the poor, as Dickens wrote:

‘... poverty and oysters always seem to go together.’

The price of oysters these days, I have long wondered why more people aren't farming them. I like a good oyster or twelve.

Originally Posted by Shutree

I have long wondered why more people aren't farming them

Because it is hard work, and oysters require very carefully maintained water conditions and they take 2-3 years to reach harvest size.

Originally Posted by TheRealKW

Because it is hard work, and oysters require very carefully maintained water conditions and they take 2-3 years to reach harvest size.

How hard can it be? They used to grow naturally. Just throw some oyster babies into shallow seas and wait a few years. I think it has more to do with people screwing up the environment. It used to be a huge business.

"In the year 1864, over 700 million oysters were consumed in London alone; and oyster fisheries employed around 120,000 people across the UK."

Oyster History | Information | Simply Oysters

^ That sounded like a lot so I did a few sums...

The population of London in the 1860s was around 3 million. Assuming a third of those were babies and/or didn't like oysters or had shellfish allergies, that would leave 2 million people eating 350 million oysters a year, or 350 oysters a year each.

So it only works out at 1 oyster a day. Doesn't sound like much at all.

There are very few native British oyster fisheries left, unfortunately the introduction of the pacific oyster has meant they are being ousted from their traditional beds.