Eat within 14 days.Įating raw oysters does come with some risk of exposure to viruses and bacteria, especially for people with compromised immune systems. Keep oysters cold! Purchased oysters should be stored in the refrigerator, packed loosely and covered with a damp towel. Check with the Department of Marine Resources for shellfish growing area closures 1-80 or 20. While the filter-feeding oysters themselves actually help to keep the water clear, oysters are vulnerable to bacterial pollution, chemical contamination, and harmful algal blooms (red tide), especially spring through fall. Water quality is one of the biggest concerns of the oyster farmer. The old adage about not eating oysters in months without an ‘R’ comes from the days when refrigeration was much less available than today.
If oysters are on the menu, they are safe to eat in any month. Oysters typically are ready to harvest in two to three years, depending on temperature and other local conditions. How long does it take for oysters to reach market size?
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Some growers may take small hatchery seed and grow it bigger in bottom cages or bags before free planting on the bottom. Some place the juvenile shellfish in plastic mesh bags or cages that float on the water surface others suspend oysters in trays or cages in the water. Oyster farmers purchase juvenile oyster “seed” or spat from one of two hatcheries in the state, and raise the oysters to market size in several ways. The look and taste of oysters varies from river to river depending on what kind of algae they eat, culture technique, and water flow, temperature, and salinity. Why do oysters from different farms vary in appearance?Įven though all of Maine’s cultured oysters are the same species, they vary widely in size, shape, color, etc. Through this filtering action, oysters help keep water clear. They pump water through their gills and extract the nutritious particles. Oysters eat algae, mostly, and other bits of microscopic detritus.
Other species of oyster grow on both sides of the Pacific and in Australia and New Zealand. These were introduced to Maine waters in the mid-twentieth century and developed self-sustaining populations in some parts of midcoast Maine. Maine consumers might occasionally see European (flat or Belon) oysters, Ostrea edulis, on the menu. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, Brazil, and Argentina. Oysters are bivalves: two shells connected by a hinge enclose and protect their muscles and organs.Īll oysters grown in Maine are the same species, Crassostrea virginica, the American or Eastern oyster, which ranges along the East Coast of North America from the Gulf of St. An oyster is a marine invertebrate animal that lives in salt and brackish water.
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