Oysters - Oakland - LocalWiki

detail of 1857 map of Oakland

Oysters were once an important food source in the Bay Area, and are one of the types of shells that comprise local shellmounds. Author Jack London was an oyster pirate in his youth, raiding the oyster beds near Oakland and Alameda. He later switched sides and worked for the fish patrol to stop oyster pirates.

Note that current pollution levels make oysters from the Bay unsuitable for human consumption.

The species native to San Francisco Bay and the west coast is the Olympia oyster, Ostrea lurida. The original oysters in the Bay were smaller than their cousins later introduced from Washington state, and are often described as having a coppery taste. The larger Washington ones have a milder flavor.

The numbers have fluctuated over the years, but there is an effort underway to reestablish them in larger numbers to help the ecosystem. ^1,2