Florida Oysters are one of the most popular oysters in the world. Florida’s oyster industry is based on the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), which is found from the Yucatan Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico to the St. Lawrence River in Canada. Ninety percent of Florida’s oysters are harvested in Apalachicola Bay in Franklin County, one of the most productive, pristine estuaries in the country. In the warm, nutrient-rich waters of the bay, oysters grow quickly and can reach market size in less than two years. (Farther north, in colder waters, this process might take up to six years.) 30A panhandle oysters are in this group of 2 years oysters.
Large oyster distributors over-catch oysters to meet a quota and ruin their ecosystem in the process. Oysters have been overharvested since 1850’s with more than 705 million bushels were harvested from the bay each year due to shellfishness. Today, that number is over 20 million, aww shucks!
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Oysters are an essential part of their ecosystem. The larvae that settle on the shells are a part of an anemones, flatworm, and mud crab’s diet. They also keep water ocean by filtering the water and the food particles when eating. Under certain conditions, a single oyster cab filter at least 50 gallons of water in one day. The oysters in the 30A are no different.
The oysters we put on the table when diners are with us are local oysters that are farmed raised in the local 30A. The farm raised oysters help the environment and the oyster ecosystem by not being over caught. Our private chefs in the 30A buy great oysters for an oyster bar, seafood tower, or even a wine dinner. The world is our oyster, as long as oysters are still a part of it.