The following article draws information from "the Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell” by Mark Kurlansky
This article was originally published in 2020, and it is being refreshed this summer season due to a number of common questions:
What is the rationale for avoiding oysters during months without an "R"?
I thought consuming oysters in late spring and summer was risky. Is that true?
This convention is steeped in history. Julius Caesar is credited for manipulating the calendar so that “R”-less months organized a season to align with Roman’s passion for oysters. “R”-less months were strung together during the spring & summer when oysters were not as desirable and in doing so, created a convention for oysters to be “out of season”. He is also believed to have set leap years to occur in February, offering one added day of oyster season for all to enjoy.
Like the produce we enjoy seasonally, the fact that breeding oysters lose their appetizing taste and appearance during this time instills an idea of an off-season. Also as a conservation measure, harvesting breeding oysters is discouraged during the warm spawning season to ensure future populations and harvests.
Fast forward to the period of 1800-1900 in American history, when abundant and thriving natural resources clashed with the rapid expansion of the New World. This was particularly evident in New York City where an unregulated marketplace rose to meet consumer demand.
The waters surrounding what is now Manhattan, similar to our Cheasapeake, were once so full of oysters that the natural resource was proclaimed infinite. Native Americans left plenty of evidence of their use of the bounty (see previous newsletter article on oyster shell middens) providing additional fuel for this misguided impression.
And while oyster “seasons” remained, NYC had a new challenge: managing its population growth. Public infrastructure was inadequate to handle the city’s urban waste. The City soon contaminated local waters and consequentially, the oysters that lived there.
The NYC Cholera outbreaks in the early 1850’s led to an “oyster panic” which prompted public officials to enforce old laws restricting oyster sales May-August in the interest of public health. By the late 1800s the prevailing medical view had also changed from blaming disease on poverty, immigration, and immortality to bacteria, sewage, and consuming contaminated shellfish.
Public health officials started to see the filter-feeder oyster as a way to measure water quality and by the turn of the century and in in the wake of a Typhoid outbreak (w/Typhoid Mary playing a key role) oysters demonstrated that NYC was producing too much sewage to dump into the sea without consequence.
Thus, what started out historically as a “season” influenced by preference in appetite and biological conservation, the seasonal idea evolved to incorporate public health themes based on water quality. This came by the new understanding that warmer months hasten bacterial growth, particularly in polluted waters, that can lead to shellfish contamination.
Today, advances in breeding technology are able reproduce naturally occurring hybrid oysters called triploids that resist disease and that do not reproduce. This creates a viable year-round oyster market and renders the historical context of oyster “seasons” moot. This technology is credited with saving the oyster industry that prior to this advancement, pivoted on natural resources. As such, these triploids alleviate harvest pressure on native oysters which are now beginning to thrive again.
For a deep dive into triploid technology, see: "So Long Triploids, Hello Creamy Oysters", our adapted article by permission from Hakai Magazine.
Even with this technology, it remains crucial to stay vigilant during the warmer months. In Virginia, regulations are adjusted from June to September to implement additional measures to protect oysters from warmer temperatures during harvests. Harvest vessels and equipment undergo inspections to ensure they meet the requirements for warm weather. The key principles governing the entire oyster supply chain are refrigeration and regulation, to further ensure oysters remain safe for consumption. Julie Qiu, the author of the renowned blog in a half shell, discusses this topic here.
The Virginia Department of Health Division of Shellfish Sanitation (VDH DSS) and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) closely monitor water quality, alert the industry of closures due to excessive stormwater runoff and inspect shellfish producer's refrigeration and enforce regulations and laws to ensure public health. Growers like LOC can also employ best practices. See our article, The Environment and Food Safety, to learn more.
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