Behold The Oyster…
I love Oysters. Here’s one reason why:
Oysters are highly nutritious, low-calorie, and nutrient-dense saltwater mollusks, offering immense amounts of zinc, vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids to support immune, bone, and heart health. A 100-gram serving offers roughly 9-10g of protein, but raw consumption poses a risk of Vibrio vulnificus bacterial infection, especially for those with liver disease or weakened immunity.
But an Oyster catastrophe in Japan is a sobering warning to the world’s supply of Oysters…
I found this story today and it’s pretty shocking, and a warning to how climate change can destroy Oyster forever!
As The Guardian reports, Japan is experiencing a devastating “die off” of Oysters, especially in the rural area of Hiroshima, where they are usually so plentiful:
“The region’s oysters – a popular Japanese dish and the lifeblood of fisheries in Hiroshima – are dying en masse, with experts blaming a combination of rising sea temperatures and, last year, a brutally hot summer that deprived the delicate bivalves of oxygen and food.”
The Guardian Reporters went to the region to discover a massive loss of Oyster population which is destroying the industry there. They report:
“But the most serious damage has occurred in Hiroshima, which accounts for almost two-thirds of Japan’s supply of farmed oysters, producing 89,000 tons of the shellfish in 2023. Together, the fisheries dotted around the inland sea produce 80% of Japan’s oysters.
Niina noticed something was wrong last October, when he and his fellow fishers encountered unusually high numbers of dead oysters at the start of the annual harvest, which ends in May.”
“In a typical year, between 30% and 50% of oysters die, but the rate this season has reached as high as 90% in parts of Hiroshima, according to the fisheries ministry. “I’ve never experienced this in my whole career,” says Tatsuya Morio, who has farmed oysters in Hiroshima for more than 20 years.
Last year Japan suffered an intense heatwave, when the average summer temperature was 2.36C higher than normal, making it the hottest summer since records were first kept in 1898.”
This should send shock waves around the world, because if rising sea temperatures can kill off the world’s Oyster population, then no area is safe.
Terrific reporting by The Guardian, see the entire story here:
I have shared many stories about Oysters, including how they can rebuild the world!
See that story here:
Oysters are so incredibly good for you: filled with vitamins, zero calories, they are a super food so we must figure out a way to protect them!
And since this is an “all food all the time” blog, let’s eat some too, THREE ways!
I made these three Oyster preparations and here are the recipes!
I also made a very unique pasta dish with “Oystas” and caviar too!
Yes, Chef Emeril Lagasse has this wild dish and here is the recipe:
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Books / Media, Food, Food Travel, Food Writing, Recipes, Travel, Wacky Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
oh dear. That’s not good. I have cut back on oysters for the last few years. Too many scary stories!
I do enjoy eating oysters, but they have become so expensive here now that they are classed by me as a ‘rare treat’, and I usually reserve that treat for when they are on offer in a restaurant. Shared both posts on Twitter, John.
Best wishes, Pete.
Pete, the average price for a half dozen oysters now in New York is $30….that said, go to Tamales Bay in Northern California where they grow and get them for $1.50 each, shucked to order!
Oh, no! Save the oysters!
Have loved oysters in whatever form forever . . . never mind the accepted health benefits important of course > I have always loved the taste, actually most in their raw, unadulterated state. Australia, especially the Eastern seaboard, has some fabulous kinds from the famed Sydney Rock ones to the oft served Pacific to, to, to . . . They have also grown very expensive locally but I had not heard of similar stories of dying off . . . homework needed . . . and one more reason for us to wake up and look after our planet . . .
Yes to all of that! I grew up with them in the pacific northwest!