Oysters are becoming 'functionally extinct'

[n2doc]

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 4:16 PM on 3rd February 2011

Oyster reefs around the world are disappearing so fast that more than 85 per cent have been lost to disease and over-harvesting, according to a study.

The mollusk is disappearing from its natural habitat and is now 'functionally extinct' in many places due to over-exploitation, scientists believe.

In areas such as the Wadden Sea in Europe and Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, fewer than 1 per cent of former reefs still exist.

Some 75 per cent of the remaining wild oysters in the world can be found at five locations in North America.

An international team of researchers led by Dr Michael Beck of The Nature Conservancy and the University of California studied oyster reefs across 144 bays and 44 ecoregions.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1353244/Oysters-extinct-85-cent-worlds-reefs-disappear.html

[rfranklin]

1. Better start eating more of them before they're gone...

Soylent Green is a good substitute however.

[ensho]

3. maybe if a ban was put on not eating them, some would survive

and grow.

or the 'survival instinct' in all things would mutate them into a way to survive.

eating them all up is nonsensical and selfish.

[MineralMan]

5. See #4. Most oysters we eat come from oyster farms.

Wild oysters are pretty rare on the market, overall.

[MineralMan]

4. Actually, most of the oysters you eat come from oyster farming

operations. Raking wild oysters is less common now than in earlier times. Oyster farming is sustainable agriculture and pretty green.

[MineralMan]

2. Snot on the half shell....

Me not like!

[snappyturtle]

8. +! unless it's finely chopped and in stew! Guess I'm no threat to the wild oysters! nt

[Historic NY]

9. try breaded fried ones....I miss the old Grange Hall suppers....

What the article doesn't say is at one time there were thousands of fresh water oysters (river varieties) all around the country that native & colonial Americans ate regularly. They have for the mort part completely disappeared.

[MineralMan]

11. Yah, I like fried oysters - in small amounts. One or two is perfect

in a seafood combo.

[phantom power]

22. Phantom Power's Postulate: "You can eat anything, if it is deep-fried."

[MineralMan]

24. Oh Heck Yes!

[Recursion]

6. When I was a kid there were still skipjacks out on the Chesapeake

I don't think there are any active oystermen (oysterpeople, I guess) on the Bay anymore. Obviously the ecological damage is the real problem but it's also sad to see a way of life disappear like that.

[MineralMan]

12. Oyster farming is alive and well on the Bay.

Wild oysters, not so much.

[Recursion]

14. Yeah, there are still farms, and the oysters are very good

But the watermen are gone.

[MineralMan]

21. Yup, along with the harness-makers. Old professions have been

outmoded many times, I'm afraid. The lobstermen are still around, though, but even they're a disappearing breed.

[ensho]

18. I remember the skipjacks - when the Bay was alive and well

and beautiful

[LuvNewcastle]

7. It looks like the oil spill is going to

destroy our reefs down here. Our oystermen dug up a bunch of empty shells this year. Biloxi used to be one of the most important oyster fishing towns in the country.:cry:

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. I had not heard that. thanks for posting the info.

Just what we were afraid of.

[xchrom]

10. that makes me sad.

i LOVE oysters -- on the half shell with a champagne vinaigrette or mignonette with lots of shallots and garlic a squeeze of lemon,
or rockefeller -- which i just had -- it's just delightful.

[MineralMan]

13. You'll still be able to eat them. Odds are you haven't eaten

a wild oyster in years. Farmed oysters are not in short supply. So, never fear. Just pay attention to their source. I won't eat any farmed seafood from Vietnam or Thailand. Too much sewage in the water there.

[xchrom]

16. i get my fish from a CFS -- right off the coast of north carolina.

that includes clams, fish and oysters and shrimp.

in fact -- here ya go.
http://www.walking-fish.org/

i do the same with my meat and vegetables.

[stuntcat]

17. I'm glad they're yummy enough for people to care.

I mean I guess.

[formercia]

19. Reminds me of the story of the old Mainah who complained about the size of the clams

"They ain't worth a damn since they put in that new treatment plant."

[bvar22]

20. I grieve.

Oysters are one of life's real pleasures,
and one of my favorite delicacies.
The Oyster Houses (Felix's, Acme Oyster House, Cassimento's) were always my first stop in New Orleans.
When I lived there, we would go to the docks (Delacroix Island, Lafitte) and buy them off the boats.
Contrary to some blather posted up-thread, many Americans who have the pleasure of living in coastal communities DO eat "wild "oysters....or used to.


I haven't eaten any since the Gulf Oil Spill. :cry:

[MineralMan]

23. That's why I used the word "most."

[xchrom]

25. oysters rockefeller

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/oysters-rockefeller-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1/3 cup bread crumbs, Panko preferred
* 2 shallots, chopped
* 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
* 1/4 cup Pernod
* Salt and pepper, to taste
* Dash red pepper sauce
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
* 1 tablespoon chopped chervil or parsley
* 2 dozen oysters, on the half shell
* Rock salt
* Lemon wedges, for garnish

Directions

Melt butter in a skillet. Saute the garlic for 2 minutes to infuse the butter. Place the bread crumbs in a mixing bowl and add half the garlic butter, set aside. To the remaining garlic butter in the skillet, add shallots and spinach, cook for 3 minutes until the spinach wilts. Deglaze the pan with Pernod. Season with salt and pepper, add a dash of red pepper sauce. Allow the mixture to cook down for a few minutes. Finish off the bread crumbs by mixing in olive oil, Parmesan and chervil, season with salt and pepper. Spoon 1 heaping teaspoon of the spinach mixture on each oyster followed by a spoonful of the bread crumb mixture. Sprinkle a baking pan amply with rock salt. Arrange the oysters in the salt to steady them. Bake in a preheated 450 degree F oven for 10 to 15 minutes until golden. Serve with lemon wedges and red pepper sauce.

* MIGNONETTE SAUCE
* Copyright 2000 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved
* 3/4 cup champagne vinegar
* 2 shallots, minced
* 2 tablespoons cracked black peppercorns
* 1 tablespoon chopped chervil
* 1/2 lemon, juiced

In a small bowl whisk together all ingredients. Cover and chill 1 hour before serving with oysters. Yield: 3/4 cup

Antoine's Oysters Rockefeller


http://www.recipegoldmine.com/cca/antoines-oysters-rockefeller.html

6 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 cups fresh chopped spinach or 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen spinach
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup diced celery
2 tablespoon diced onion
1 tablespoon pernod liqueur or anisette
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 drop Tabasco sauce
18 large oysters

Melt butter; add crumbs and sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Combine with other ingredients, except oysters, in blender until smooth. Arrange oysters in shells (or individual dishes). Top each
with 1 tablespoon spinach mixture and broil 3-5 minutes or until lightly browned.

must have tabasco handy for this one if you ask me.