Marin County Oyster Crawl

The Bay Area has a long and rich half-shell history.  Native Coast Miwoks survived off hunting and gathering fish, shrimp, and oysters in the various bays and coves for centuries.  Mark Twain raved of the succulent shellfish he enjoyed at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco, calling it "heaven on the half shell." San Francisco Bay, or San Francisco Estuary, to be more accurate, was one of largest shellfish producers in North America in the late 1800s, providing an abundance of mussels and native Olympia oysters.  As the area grew and native oysters dwindled, Eastern Oysters and Washington Oysters were shipped in and finished in the Bay to meet the growing demand.  And sadly, soon to follow, hydraulic mining, industrial pollution, and over-harvesting quickly led to SF Bay's oystering collapse.  

Yet, while San Francisco Bay could no longer support any bivalve breath at the beginning of the 20th century, Tomales Bay's oyster production began to burgeon.  Modern day oyster harvesting started in Tomales Bay in the 1860s, but didn't fully take off until Tomales Bay Oyster Company, in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Game, introduced the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea Gigas) in the 1930s.  These oysters soon became the Bay Area standard, and are now familiarly known to raw bar enthusiasts as Preston Points, Hog Island Sweetwaters, or Marin Miyagis.  Surprisingly, as large as California is, it does not enjoy many oyster growing areas.  Aside from a few farms in Humboldt Bay, Morro Bay, and off Carlsbad, the main focus of oyster growing in California is in Marin County between Tomales Bay and Drakes Estero.

Luckily, San Francisco is only a scenic hour and half drive away from California's greatest oyster grounds.  Being the oyster junkie I am, I try to make it up there as often as I can. I decided to spend my most recent sunny Monday off traversing the beautiful Tomales coast in search of the best oyster preparations Marin County has to offer.

I immediately knew where to start: Tomales Bay Oyster Company.  Not only do they produce delicious Preston Points, Golden Nuggets, and now their very own Kumamotos, they are also the oldest continually operating oyster farm in California, beginning in 1909.  This, plus the fact that they established the Pacific oyster in the Bay Area.  As it was Monday, I had the picnic area and knowledgeable staff all to myself.  I suppose "industry" weekends do have their perks.

So, with cash in hand and a single 22 oz. Tecate, I set out to purchase a half dozen Kumamotos and a half dozen Golden Nuggets.  There's something great about pulling into the rustic Tomales Bay Oyster Company.  Just tables, grills, and oysters.  No bells and whistles.  Beers, barbeques, and bivalves.  It's all you need.

Each oyster was not only brimming with Tomales Bay's flavorful finest, but a pleasure to shuck.  Any accoutrements other than the beaming sun and salty fresh air would have been nothing short of blasphemy.   I'd had the Golden Nuggets a few times before, but they were especially amazing on this occasion.  Perfectly tide-tumbled (the method of growing), well manicured, deep cupped, plump, and rich.  They started with that familiar Tomales briny punch, but mellowed out into a rich, buttery finish, almost like dipping artichoke leaves in bernaise sauce.  The Kumamotos (Crassoastrea sikamea) were equally as tasty.  They were less salty that their gigas counterparts, but definitely brinier than Kumamotos from Humboldt Bay or Puget Sound.  At four years to market size, it was a complex roller coaster of flavors from bitter herb to that familiar cucumber melon that most Kumos deliver.  Unfortunately, the only place to find the Golden Nuggets and TBOC Kumamotos is at the namesake establishment.  However, the trip is absolutely worth it.

After my raw oyster appetizer, I headed a little more than a mile up Highway 1 to The Marshall Store.  Established overy a century ago, The Marshall Store long served as the general store for Marshall and the surrounding Tomales Bay area.  Now, under the same ownership as TBOC, it's a humble but amazing seafood shanty sitting right on the town of Marshall's boat harbor.

I know that I always talk about being an oyster purist.  No sauces, no lemons, and especially, no cooking.  Raw or bust.  However, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like barbequed oysters just as much as the next guy.  In fact, I don't know anybody that doesn't like them.  "Nope, I don't like barbequed oysters.  I don't like sunshine, sex, or Bob Marley either."  It just doesn't make any sense.  They're delicious.  And at the Marshall Store they're about as good as they get.

There is one simple rule to barbequed oysters and that is DO NOT OVERCOOK them.  As soon as the liquor starts to bubble and the oysters start to curl at the edges, they're done.  Just enough to incorporate all the flavorful toppings but not to the lose the natural juiciness and freshness of the oyster. The Marshall Store certainly knows this rule well.

Classic BBQ Sauce and Garlic Butter; Chorizo Butter and Cilantro; Oysters Rockafeller.

All three styles were delicious, especially the chorizo butter.  Shellfish and salty pig parts never fail to deliver, nor does the view from the Marshall Store while enjoying a cold beer and these tasty bites.

So, with two excellent preparations under my belt, I had one more to go.  Two constitutes a good time, but no less than three equals an "oyster crawl."  There are several places in Marin County offering great preparations of oyster po'boys and hangtown frys, but I knew I was setting out for something special offered at Osteria Stellina in Point Reyes Station.

Run by Chef-Owner Christian Caiazzo, Osteria Stellina offers up hyper-local fair dubbed as "Point Reyes Italian."  The restaurant was inspired by his lengthy travels around Italy where he noticed that each little country-side town had its own unique flavors and styles of cuisine.  To his amazement, this stemmed from the cooks using only local, fresh ingredients from the immediate surrounding farms.  Not because it was trendy or the "in" thing in the food scene, but simply because that was how it's always been.  The cooks' parents used local ingredients, their parents' parents used local ingredients, and so on.  It was just the way things were.  No all white meat Tyson chicken breasts or Chinese grown brocolli on their tables.

In trying to replicate this style of restuarant in the U.S., Chef Caiazzo realized that Marin County was the perfect setting.  All of Osteria Stellina's cheeses, meats, produce, and many libations come from West Marin, demonstrating the seasonal bounty the region has to offer.  And with this as the restaurant's credo, you know they have to use local oysters.

Enter Osteria Stellina's famed Drakes Bay Oyster Pizza.

Oysters on pizza right off the bat doesn't sound like it would work.  Perhaps if you called it a flat bread or something people wouldn't be as taken aback.  However, it is pretty spot on.

Straus Family cream braised leeks, crispy yet toothesome crust, parsley, lemon thyme, and generous portions of slightly warmed Drakes Bay oysters made for a delightful culmination to my Marin County Oyster Crawl.  The buttery cream was perfectly cut by each little salty, herbaceous pop of the oysters.  It was like an oyster chowder with ample amounts of crusty bread for dipping, but already put together for you.

In the end, I realized that Marin County not only grows some of the best oysters in the country, but goes the full nine in serving them up in simple, classic, and innovative ways.  The long and rich half shell history of Northern California has not only endured in Tomales Bay but continues to grow as more and more recognize what a true treasure the area is.  Take a day off work and check it out for yourself. 

Cheers,

The SF Oyster Nerd

Oyster and Hard Cider Pairings

I was recently watching the Botany of Desire again, since Netflix sucks at updating its streaming service with new material.  Not a major issue as it's a great PBS documentary based on Michael Pollan's book about the co-evolution of plants and people.  He explores the idea that it's been in several plants' best interest to become domesticated and evolve characteristics that humans desire. This, in turn, caused humans to be the "bumblebees" of these plants, spreading their seed around the world and ensuring their successful propagation.  Perhaps you've seen it or even read it (which I shamefully have yet to do).  It's very identifiable seeing as how Pollan  anthropomorphizes the plants, almost claiming they purposefully become more and more desirable.

The apple, for example, was widely cultivated throughout North America in the early 1800's.  These apples were not as we know them today, though.  They were mostly bitter, astringent crab apples, used for making hard cider.  These inedible apples are actually said to make the best cider.  But, every once in a while, a rare seed-to-tree would produce a delectably sweet apple.  By the 1900's, farmers began singling out these trees and grafting them to produce more and more sweet apples.  Today we know them as the Red Delicious, Green Delicious,  Baldwin, etc.  So, we now all enjoy this tasty fruit and the apple has secured its global proliferation.

All good and interesting.  However, what most fascinated me was Pollan's discussion of the 1830's cider scourge in the US.  Cider was the drink of the age, much like wine or beer today.  It was even consumed more than water, since rampant cholera and typhoid epidemics were known to come from contaminated drinking water.  It's popularity grew which lead to saloons and countrysides full of drunkards.  The apple became demonized and was seen as evil, intoxicating the masses.  It only recovered once the grafting of sweet apples became the standard.

The Tree of Intemperance with Hard Cider at its Roots

But, during this time, I think quite a few flagons of cider were downed with quite a few dozen oysters.  They paired so well together, in flavor and in culture.  Both slightly taboo, earmarks of poverty, and akin to debauchery.  I'm sure that Manhattan's Five Points had plenty of Dickensian oyster cellars full of cider and unsavory patrons consuming both.

And the characteristics of a good sparkling cider seem to be the precise qualities one looks for in an oyster drink pairing.  Crisp, tart, dry or semi-dry, slightly acidic, effervescent.  The basic production of them is the same as wine.  Press the apples for their juice and ferment the juice with added or naturally occurring yeast, turning its sugars into alcohol.  This also means that ciders, like wines and oysters, have terroir.  The same apples may be grown in different areas producing different biochemical components in them leading to very different ciders. 

 

So, to explore further, I found myself biking around SF on a chilly Monday looking for some nice ciders.  Considering that I really didn't know much about the drink, I went to Healthy Spirits , a Castro beer/bourbon store with an incredibly knowledgeable staff that has no problem talking spirits for an hour.  Though they have a limited selection, the owner provided me with some great recommendations and information.  I wanted to get a four different ciders, varying in style, region, and level of production to try with four different oysters. 

Ciders

Aspall English Demi-Sec Draft Cider

Pretty widely available cider produced in Suffolk, England since 1728. It did not specify any apple varietal, so I assumed it was a blend.  It was floral, crisp, dry, and very champagne-esque.  It had a decent ripe apple sweetness to it, as well.

Tieton Cider Works - Wild Washington Semi-Dry

Tieton seemed to be one of the other widely available ciders.  It was made out of a blend of apples in the namesake town of Tieton, Washington.  Washington is famous for its apples and oysters, so I had to get one.  In comparison to the other three, this was a very mellow, low-carbonated, smooth cider.  It also had a very muddy, disagreeable after taste.     

West County Cider - Redfield

A smaller production where the owners both grow the apples and make the cider out of Shelburne, Massachusetts.  They also ferment with the natural apple skin yeast and not champagne yeast like most sparkling ciders do.  Being 75% Redfield apple, it had a rose color from the scarlet fleshed variety.  It was grassy on the nose, had a strong barnyard flavor with tartness and an alkaline finish.

N Cider  

I had to get a local cider, right?  Made by Murray Ciders out of Petaluma, California, it's a blend of organic Sonoma County apples and twice fermented, giving it a champagne carbonation.  It was cloudy, had an extremely harsh citrus nose, was astringent, overly tart, and tasted like lemon juice.  In hindsight, I wish I had gone with Murray's Cyder, the company's primary cider.  I even bought a second bottle of N Cider, just to make sure the one I had wasn't oxidized.  But, sure enough, same characteristics.

Oysters

Church Point

This Pacific oyster is intertidal beach grown and partly tumbled by the Sea Fresh Farms cooperative out of Hammersly Inlet, Washington.  It's a medium-cupped, fluted oyster with a very high liquor (oyster juice) content and has a nice artichoke/cucumber finish.  It's also a triploid oyster, meaning it never gets spawny or creamy.

Drakes Bay

Local Pacific oyster bag-to-beach grown by the Lunny Family in Drakes Estero in Point Reyes, California.  I had to use it, not only because it's a great oyster but may not be around much longer because of the damn National Park Service and a misguided Ken Salazar.  Hopefully you're familiar and hopefully the Lunny's litigation fight turns the decision around.  It is very briny, a little creamy and has a great bitter-herb finish.

Effingham  

Another Pacific oyster grown in suspension trays and partly tumbled by Northwest Aquaculture in Barkley Sound, Vancouver Island.  The Effingham is larger, plump, has a cream colored flesh and a subtle watermelon finish.

Village Bay

The only Atlantic oyster in my selection, Village Bays are suspension tray grown in Bedec Bay, New Brunswick.  They are very similar to the famous Beausoleil oyster from the same region.  They're medium sized, snappy, mild with a fresh baked bread aroma and a gamier clam-like finish.

Now, to the pairings.  Two ciders immediately eliminated: Tieton and N Cider.  If it's not a good cider to start with, it's not going to pair well with anything.  Perhaps not dogma, but I tried them and they didn't work.  I was left with four oysters and two ciders.  What immediately became apparent was that a strongly flavored oyster was needed to stand up to the pungency of even the dryer, less tart ciders.  Effinghams and Church Points were completely overwhelmed by both the Aspall and the West County.

Two wonderful pairings did come out of the tasting, though, and they were the Drakes with the Aspall and the Village Bay with the West County.  Quite the opposite of what I had expected, actually.  I imagined the barnyard flavored West County would go nicely with the more vegetal Pacific oyster and the Aspall with the minerally Atlantic oysters.

However, the Aspall and Drakes went great together.  None of the Drakes celebrated qualities were lost while drinking the Aspall.  Slight fruitiness to begin cut by the strong salinity in the Drakes, finished with the refreshing effervescence of another sip.  Certainly a pairing I'd love to enjoy while sitting bayside in San Francisco.

The real magic happened with the Village Bay and West County, though.  The dry, alkaline finish of the West County made me yearn for the mild yet savory hit of a Virginica oyster.  I took in the fresh yeasty aroma of the Village Bay, slurped, and was entranced by the accentuated gaminess that the cider brought out.  The West County made the Village Bay taste more "oystery" in a great way, almost like an Olympia.

Though this experiment had not gone as I had expected in proving that ciders and oysters pair brilliantly, it did confirm that a few ciders and a few stronger oysters do work amazingly in tandem.  In my eyes, this is just the beginning to a long and "fruitful" adventure.

 The Village Bay with the West County Redfield and the Aspall with the Drakes Bay

Naturally, after having drunk nearly three bottles of cider mostly to myself on a Monday afternoon (it's tough doing blog research, man) I got a little audacious.  I figured brunoise some shallots and apples, add equal parts of the Aspall and apple cider vinegar, and you've got yourself a spot-on mignonette.  It proved true.  I had my brother try it for confirmation.  It definitely worked, and it wasn't just the cider talking.

Apple Cider Mignonette

My cider and oyster pairing was an amazing experience.  It lead me to do everything I try to achieve in a post.  Explore and learn about new things, enjoy the process of trying out new ideas, and sharing those ideas and their end results with others.  Hopefully you too get the chance, soon, to try sparkling hard ciders and oysters together.

Cheers,

The SF Oysternerd

Drakes Bay Oyster Company EIS Deadline Extended to December 9th

The push is on, friends. The deadline for public comment on Drakes Bay Oyster Company's Special Users Permit in Point Reyes National Park has been extended to December 9th, so please urgently spread the word for support of Drakes Bay Oyster Company. A little background on the controversy can be found here and here, and now is the time for action.

Please go to the Alliance for Local Sustainable Agriculture and read the guidelines for putting together a clear, concise, and comprehensive comment. Take this information and post your comment at the National Park Service's website. Also, it doesn't matter if you're a local of Northern California or a resident of Tuscaloosa. Being the NATIONAL Park Service, everyone's opinion is regarded as equal. Correct in theory but flawed in practice. That's like someone's vote in Alaska contributing to the approval of a nuclear power plant's construction in your backyard. Strange to me, but hopefully we can use it to our advantage rather than detriment. Additionally go to Oysterzone to get a Marin County resident's opinion on the matter (much more extensive than my own).

I don't believe there is much of my opinion on the matter that I haven't shared yet. The NPS has gone on witch-hunts and publicly smeared individuals and organizations before. The Case of The Indian Trader, written by Paul Berkowitz, describes the case of Billy Malone, a former Indian trader at the Hubbell Trading Post in Arizona, who was everything but framed by the NPS. Berkowitz, a former NPS detective, gave a long and eye-opening lecture on his book in Marin County a few weeks ago, and it was quite shocking. The link provided gives a brief but detailed description. Long story short, the NPS and it's "non-profit" cooperating association, the Western National Parks Association, sought to vilify Billy Malone to explain declining Hubbell Trading Post profits (which WNPA was legally allowed to "donate" to the NPS) and to obtain precious Navajo antiquities owned by Malone, valued in the millions. I'm sure that statement would get torn apart as being libelous, but it's really what seems to be the conclusion of the matter. They almost ruined this man's life, and would have if Berkowitz hadn't been assigned the investigation and vindicated Malone.

Former congressman Pete McCloskey, an original author of the 1976 legislation sanctioning Point Reyes National Park as a wilderness, presented at the lecture as well. He stated that when the Point Reyes National Seashore Act was passed, the authors' intention was the Oyster farm always remain part of the park. NPS has misinterpreted this law in its favor to close the farm.

Well, the NPS is pulling another "Case of the Indian Trader" in Point Reyes. The backwards culture of this agency somehow internally justifies its unprofessional approach to Drakes Bay Oyster Company. "Let's juke a couple stats, suppress some relevant findings, and ignore the massive cultural and socioeconomic impact on the community, all so we can make Point Reyes National a wildlife sanctuary." Noble cause corruption. I'm afraid that's not how it's supposed to work. Research is meant to be gathered in an objective manner and a decision be made in the best interest of both the community and environment. NPS has long had the goal of closing DBOC from the start of this environmental impact statement, and it seems as though they will stop at nothing to achieve this goal, even put their integrity in question.

No matter if you are in support of closing Drakes Bay Oyster Company, you have to cringe at the investigation the NPS has conducted. No ethical individual could be presented with all the facts and say "good on-ya, NPS, you're doing the right thing." There has been crass misrepresentation of DBOC's intentions in the area, disregard of important community implications, and dubiously obtained data. And it's not like it's NPS vs. Big Bad Oyster Company. You all know that the Lunnys run a family farm committed to the most sound aquaculture practices available. The closure of DBOC would financially ruin them. It's no longer about pro-oyster vs. pro-park. It's about the irresponsible actions of a governmental agency crushing a local, sustainable, community supported farm. I know I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do all that I could to help save Drakes Bay Oyster Farm.

So please, tell everyone you know to go to the listed sites and voice their opinion in support of Drakes Bay Oyster Company.

Cheers,
The SF Oysternerd

Save Drakes Bay Oyster Company

Dear Friends:

I've posted on the Drakes Bay Oyster Company before, here, explaining the situation and the National Park Service's environmental impact statement and public scope on whether or not to renew DBOC's lease. However, until I went to the public scope open house last night at Fort Mason, I had no idea what a David vs. Goliath situation it truly was.

NPS has gathered data to support their motive of closing DBOC and suppressed data that does not favor their agenda. They then presented this data, with the help of outside consultation, in an incredibly biased fashion. These "consultants," cute little librarian-esk mercenaries, walked around the public scope the entire night, giving figures on the adverse environmental impact DBOC has had and refuting any figures that DBOC proponents had. Unbiased public forum? I think not. This consultation company was paid, by the NPS, to help achieve its clear goal of closing DBOC. Basically, federal funding that should be going to park restoration and management projects, did not. Rather, it went to a company hired to consult on which best way to publicly smear the DBOC.

Second, the language presented to the public in the brief statements of policy if DBOC were to remain open gave the illusion of DBOC's request for expansion. Each option stated "the DBOC can harvest no more than 500,000 to 700,000 tons of shellfish per year, a 10%-30% increase on the 2010 harvest." So, an individual reading each one of these three statements, walked away with the notion that no matter what, DBOC will get bigger if it remains open. The Lunny family has never requested to expand, simply maintain their operation. Given the current and proposed regulations on the DBOC, they would never even be able to achieve these numbers. Yet, the attendees simply saw "expansion into more of the Point Reyes park."

Third, when I addressed the allegations of data suppression by NPS scientists with an NPS representative, he continued to skirt around the issue, going into over-my-head specifics of data collection methods and scientific procedure. After about five minutes of this, I simply stated "how can I trust the validity of any data the NPS collected, or did not collect, on this issue when it is clear that the scientists had a motive and end goal of closing DBOC." He responded by saying only one scientist was in question and the Department of the Interior found there to be poor and sloppy data collection, but no misconduct. I simply said "well only one scientist got caught." Perhaps not a fair response, but you have to admit, being such a hot button issue, you really have to question the integrity of the whole operation with these allegations of misconduct on the table.

Lastly, people kept questioning what sort of precedent NPS would set if it allowed the DBOC to continue operating. Interesting. The SUP Public Law 111-88 for DBOC, posted at the front of the meeting, explicitly stated that it shall not be used as precedent in any future NPS proceedings or decisions. However, when people asked the question of precedent, none of the cute little consulting hit-men, or hit-women I should say, mentioned a thing. But if someone asked questions on DBOC's valuable contribution to the growing seafood demand of the Bay Area, they were more than happy to throw production figures at you stating that DBOC's absence will be easily made up for by Tomales Bay production. I'll let you be the judge of this one. Curious, to say the least.

The list of atrocities I saw at this meeting could go on and on. The use of the word "potential" vs. the use of the word "evidence" in the actual environmental impact statement, the question of food production and water consumption, the physical layout of issues addressed in the drafting of the statement. It was a public flogging of the DBOC with a sort of "hide the ball" move on the benefits of the company.

In conclusion, my opinion is that closing the DBOC would be no less than draconian environmentalism, admitting that we should separate ourselves from nature rather than coexist as stewards of it. The DBOC is a sustainable, family-run aquaculture farm that exemplifies what a true relationship with nature should be. Their practices should be replicated, not eradicated.

Please go here to comment in support of Drakes Bay Oyster Company. The public scope will close on November 29th. You can also find more detailed information at Drakes Bay Oyster Company.

Cheers,
The SF Oyster Nerd

Drakes Bay Plight

My apologies for not having posted lately. Between family in town, baptisms, 65 hours a week working, the Oyster wine event, friends in town, and an exhaustingly fun Memorial Day weekend, I haven't had much time. The Oyster and wine event went, shall we say, swimmingly (all pun intended). Around 45 people were there, everyone seemed to like it, I got to be all nerdy about Oysters, can't ask for much more. Made a decent coin off of it too, although my brother's car had been towed earlier that day when we were picking up the Oysters, so I didn't even come close to breaking even. The experience was priceless though, right? Thanks again to everyone for coming and I hope you enjoyed, learned, and got a little tipsy.

Now, the second reason for not having posted more recently is the topic of this post. A brief and unbiased background before we begin.




The Drakes Bay Oyster Situation:

Drakes Bay Family Farms, a local Californian company, is run by a century old farming family named the Lunnys. They've farmed grass fed beef for over a four generations in the heart of the Point Reyes National Seashore, and in 2005, took over the Johnson Oyster Company. They currently hold a Special Users Permit in agreement with the National Park Service to grow Oysters in Drakes Estero (using the surrounding land that is part of the national park) that runs out in 2012. The issue: should their SUP be renewed in 2012? Some strongly say yes and others vehemently say no.

Now, I'm guessing if you're reading, you immediately chose the former; no questions asked. I did the same. Can't grow Oysters in a national park? Shuck off, NPS! So I had been contemplating writing about this for a while. Really, how appropriate for SF? Informing the people on how a family owned, local, artisan Oyster farm is going to be shut down by a bunch of big brother squares.

However, I figured if I'm going to write about it, I had better know all the facts. So, I started reading...and reading...and reading. The more I read, the more I realized how little I truly knew (that’s supposed to be that way though, no?). I couldn't have imagined how much was behind this issue. There were even some NPS scientists who, in a corrupt Baltimore policing manner, allegedly juked studies and statistics to say Drakes Bay was harming the ecosystem. Seriously...see below

Shady NPS Scientists


If minds that are supposed to be in pursuit of truth, and truth alone, are willing to risk their careers for this issue, there's got to be a lot more to it. From the inception of this blog, and even some time before, I'd been reading about this. I finally realized that if I continue reading, it would never end. Might as well become a full time researcher. What I thought I could have succinctly summarized in a post that one could read on the BART to work or, more crudely, an average adult's trip to the lavatory, ended up being everything but. By the way, if you find your self still in said location at the end of this, I suggest considering some Raisin Bran Extra on the next trip to the store.

I realized it was getting a bit out of hand for a blog of 12 followers when I found myself reading and comparing different opinions on eelgrass density and reproduction in areas of aquaculture and the countless different comments on the NPS's Public Scope held in last Fall. I didn't want this to be a Ben Stein "Bueller...Bueller" type read. I even found myself at that "Hawley-Smoot Tariff" boredom point while reading.

So, with more than enough said already, the following is mostly my opinion on the issue with a few facts peppered in...hopefully not as bad Fox News though. My apologies in advance for any mistakes I may have made.

Sustainability and Locavorism:

As I've said in previous posts, aquacultured Oysters are on the "Best Choices" list of Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch List. People love seafood, and nothing is going to stop that. Its popularity is even growing. There’s a sort of Oyster renaissance happening, if you will. So, with that in mind, we have to choose responsibly. Closing down DBOC would only force people to find other, less sustainable and less local options for their seafood fix. DBOC currently produces close to 40% of California's Oysters. Additionally, DBOC is California's only Oyster cannery, selling pinted Oysters for cooking. If they were to close, all those delicious fried Oysters or Oyster stews that we enjoy so much would be made of Oysters coming from Washington, the Chesapeake, or, oh dear, Asia (I can feel all of you cringing). Plus, the Carbon Footprint that many claim DBOC is making locally would be globally increased by now importing Oysters for SFers' mollusk mania.

The Local Economy:

DBOC provides employment to around 40 individuals in the area, with fair wages and often provides housing. In a state of economic turmoil, closing a successful operation and adding 40 more to the unemployment rate would be a shame, especially considering these employees support families, pay taxes, have children attending local schools, etc.

DBOC is also a destination for many local tourists. I visited in October and was astounded by the tranquility, the quaintness, and the beauty of the whole area. Well, beauty of the establishment is a stretch considering they haven't been able to renew any of the equipment. It literally looks like an Oyster farm from the 1970's (and in many ways, it still is). The NPS agreement has prevented them from purchasing new equipment. However, the DBOC attracts many people for this very reason (like I said, quaint). I know I wouldn't have gone to Point Reyes if weren't for the Oyster farm. All the individuals passing through that region provide income for the locals. I'm sure the kayakers and hikers do, as well. But, another tourist attraction can only help.

Education:

The DBOC is a popular destination for many school field trips. It provides an educational experience for many children in demonstrating the symbiotic existence that man and mollusk can have. Admittedly, these students could just as easily go to Tomales Bay and see the same operation. But really? If that's you're argument, you clearly don't understand. The more sources of education there are, the more likely it is people will utilize them. No more or less important, DBOC cooperates with local institutions in allowing and assisting in the study of aquaculture and how it can be responsibly and sustainably approached. They’re part of the solution, folks, not the problem.

Environmental Impact:

Okay, here's where I happily plead ignorance. I touched the tip of this iceberg, and can say that decades can be dedicated to this discussion. Are the harbor seals disturbed or not? Does eelgrass thrive or dwindle with aquacultured Oysters? Are nesting sea birds adversely affected? Nobody is 100% sure of any impact aquaculture has. It is, as all science, a constantly changing field with different, clashing opinions. All I can say, having spoken with one of the Lunnys, is that they are wholeheartedly committed to producing their Oysters (and cattle) in the most responsible, environmentally sound way possible. They've been doing it with cows for 4 generations, and are doing the same with Oysters. They've even switched their boats from two-strokes to more expensive, but cleaner burning four-strokes. And to the person who says "Oh, well it's an eyesore when I'm hiking." Hike your hippie ass another mile and trip there.

Deliciousness & Pride:

DBOC Oysters are delicious. Enough said. Not down-playing any other Oyster in California, but in my opinion, they’re the best Californian Oyster I’ve had. It’s a point of pride for San Franciscans, as well. It’s literally the closest grown Oyster to SF. Beautiful jade colored shell, moderately deep cupped, astoundingly briny up front because of the lack of rain, with an amazing herb flavored finish. The restaurant I work at pays extra for its canned oysters because they are that just that much better when baking or frying. The Lunny’s also embody the Locavore movement. Small family, a few workers, treating the land the way it’s meant to be treated. As Rowan Jacobsen says, “Oysters don’t taste like bacon double cheeseburgers or Chinese BBQ.” They’re like wines. You need to taste them side by side to appreciate the full validity of flavor that they deliver. And Drakes Bay brings an amazing contribution to this wide range. So, please San Francisco, I beg of you…stand up for the DBOC.

Public Scope #2 is coming up this fall...October. Strength and Honor.

The Drakes Bay Oyster Company


Cheers,

The SF Oyster Nerd