Did you know that a large percentage of oysters that are consumed on the entire West Coast has lived in Humboldt County at some point in its life?As an employee of the North Coast Growers’ Association, I have visited my fair share of farms; I’ve seen everything from cows getting milked by robots to an Albert Etter apple orchard, filled with trees of unique varieties that aren’t available anywhere else in the world. However, despite living in Eureka, I had never seen an oyster farm until earlier this month.I was lucky enough to get to tour Hog Island Oyster Company’s facility on the Samoa peninsula, and was blown away with how little I knew about farming oysters in Humboldt Bay, so I want to share some tidbits of that information with you.Apparently, oysters love Humboldt Bay. If happy cows come from California, happy oysters definitely come from Humboldt Bay. One reason is the expansive mud flats that get exposed during low tide help warm the water up, which in turns helps to produce more plankton for oysters to eat. Another reason is that the water that enters Humboldt Bay only stays in the Bay for a couple of days before getting pulled out to the ocean. This process keeps the water quality very high. If you compare this to other bays like San Diego Bay, water can stay in the bay for up to several months so it quickly circulates any disease that could affect the oyster population.The ideal growing conditions for oysters is what led Hog Island Oyster Co. to move their main breeding facility to Humboldt. “How do you breed an oyster?” I’m glad you asked!Read More
