Oyster farming

On the Brittany coast, if it is a favorite dish on the occasion of a festive event or other, it is this seafood that is the oyster! The Morbihan, in particular the whole country of Auray to the borders of the Gulf of Morbihan, is one of the main supplier of this delicious and invigorating seashell!

Let's start with the oyster...

Well, we can say that by its rustic appearance, seen from the outside, it is a shell of the prehistoric era! And when we open it, we discover inside the finesse and sweetness of a delicate fruit. It is certain that the Romans, although they did not know how to cultivate them 2000 years ago, ate them.

Before them, in ancient times, the Greeks! Did you know that they used oyster shells to inscribe the names of the people they wanted to banish from their cities? How did they do next? They voted in public assembly, using white stones or black stones. If a majority of black stones was counted, the person (embarrassing by his power or his ambition) was driven out of the city for a decade. Hence the origin of the word: ostracism (proscribed, excluded, quarantined) which comes from the word "ostreon" which means the oyster in ancient Greek.

In France, it seems that oysters have been eaten for several centuries. The kings of France always had them on their tables at the court of Versailles. The oyster was then part of the refined dishes, and was especially considered to have aphrodisiac virtues!

King Louis XV, who is suspected of having remained ill after having eaten one, decided that it should not be eaten outside months that do not have an R in their name: May, June, July and August. These months are mostly times when the oyster breeds and its appearance is rather "milky". This tradition is still present in our mentality whereas, for several years already, the oyster farmers cultivate a kind of oyster which does not present this appearance. We can taste all year!

How did we manage to produce it in France? It was Napoleon III, himself regularly staying in the region of South West France, who encouraged the cultivation of this seafood that he enjoyed so much. In 1883, the prefect of Paris, Mr. Poubelle, the one who invented the container of the same name, decreed by an ordinance, the obligation to the Parisians, to put the oyster shells in the trash (where they threw them before: in the Seine perhaps?). This anecdote proves that the culture of the oyster existed.

In Brittany, two main kinds of oysters are grown:

The flat oyster, (ostréa edulis) Belon: born in Brittany, (Riec-sur-Belon) in southern Finistère, or called bouzigue in the Hérault or gravette in the basin of Arcachon. It is so sensitive to diseases that it almost disappeared, its production is always minimal.

The oyster, which you will certainly taste during your stay in Britain, is native to Japan. The Latin name is crassostrea gigas of the Ostréidea family. It was imported to France in 1971. It has adapted well to Morbihan's waters. It has replaced the Portuguese oyster which has also been decimated by diseases.

The oyster is a mollusk very sensitive to pollution. On the Brittany coasts, there are many oyster beds. Imagine: an oyster is an average of 67 tons of filtered water year round! Whether in the Bay of Quiberon, the Gulf of Morbihan, the handle of the Po between Carnac and Plouharnel or the Ria d'Etel, vigilance is omnipresent. The quality of the water makes that there are richly iodized products.

How is an oyster born? It is an alternating hermaphrodite organism. That means that it changes sex, in the case of the oyster, it is a year on the other. They emit what are called gametes (reproductive cell). One year male gametes, another year female gametes and so on... In June, they will take care of gametes. Depending on the temperature of the water and its salinity, they release them. In water, they give rise to tiny larvae with a lifespan of 10 to 15 days in the water. They move with the current essentially. The oyster farmer must be particularly vigilant during this breeding season. The larva to become an oyster needs to attach to a wall somewhere. In July or early August, they dive into their oyster beds, bars or metal cups (now aluminum: lighter), specially adapted to the marine environment, hoping that the small larvae pass by and come s hang on! Then, they remove the bars and the cups, they must take off the larvae that have arrived at this stage what is called: the spat. For a long time, to collect them, the oyster farmers used clay tiles kind tile channel. The oyster farmer recovered this spat by scratching the tiles one by one with a scraper like that of the painter. Now machines have replaced this tedious job.

How does an oyster grow? Oysters are put in mesh bags called pouches. Some are made with tighter stitches, others with larger stitches. All this to prevent predators to devastate parks, such as seagulls or fish: the gilthead seabream, the ballista with its teeth very sharp, the starfish, the crab, and even a kind of periwinkle... As and as they grow, the oyster farmer pulls the oysters from these pockets, sorts them by size and then puts them back in the bags so they continue to grow. This operation takes place approximately every year. So that initially a pocket contains a number from 1000 to 1500 to finish at 100, 150 pieces per bag. This is not an activity of any rest! Indeed, climatic conditions such as tides, wind, swell, change the position of the oyster in the pocket. We must also prevent them from sticking together. The professional to continue raising oysters until maturity, must return the oyster bags regularly. Not to mention the risk that they open and oysters leave the ocean. It is not less than 150 times throughout their life, about once a week, that this action is done.

Before placing it at your table, it takes about 3 1/2 years to make a consumable oyster. It is an oyster, recovered at sea, rinsed (with sea water) and deposited on a carpet, where it is weighed. It is calibrated by number: 1, 2, 3, 4... The smaller the size, the larger the oyster or heavier. The average, the one you will buy, is No. 3, it weighs an average of 75 grams. Oysters live outside water for about 10 days, not especially in the fridge but in a temperature of 10 to 15-16 degrees. What they do not like is especially big differences. When you arrive in front of the stall to choose your oysters, you thought about the course?

Finally on your table, to open before the meal, there are many objects, the special knife is the simplest. It is opened by the retracted side to cut the muscle that keeps it closed. A tip: especially protect the hand that holds the oyster, do not do it with bare hands, take care not to hurt you! Incidentally, if you strive, do not pierce the membrane of the small black area where the food residue of the oyster is likely to give a taste of "not good" if they mingle with water naturally contained in the oyster.

It remains only to taste them: nature or with a drizzle of lemon juice and accompanied by a glass of water or white wine, with moderation the latter, a brussels for example. Larger oysters can be enjoyed hot.

A brief overview of production and consumption: The culture of the oyster is worldwide: France holds the rank of 3rd producer in the world (with 300 thousand tons) and 1st European producer. After China: 5 million tons (1 oyster caliber 3 is about 75 grams, imagine how much they consume). The 2nd: Japan (2 million tons) and the 3rd with France is South Korea. Other countries: Italy, Portugal, Ireland, the Netherlands. On other continents: Chile, Australia, Morocco, Senegal. Part of the French production is exported and is found on the best tables of the most chic restaurants on the planet. The Breton oyster? How lucky to find it on our tables! Go, close your eyes, let the water, then the oyster flow gently on your palate: it's the sun, the spray, the lapping of the waves, the holidays by the sea, in Brittany... So, then... good tasting!