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In Europe, the French emerged from the 19th century as the undisputed leaders in the oyster game. The solid oyster cultivation foundation Coste had laid in France was paying off in a big way. France was not only producing more oysters than anybody else in Europe, but also offering the finest quality imaginable. By now, the Portuguese oyster (Crassostrea angulata) was responsible for more than 90% of French oyster production, the harvest of the European Oyster (Ostrea edulis) comprising the rest. On a smaller scale, Dutch oystermen in the province of Zeeland had successfully started cultivating large numbers of oysters with methods similar to those of the French. Holland thus commanded a respectable market share in the European shellfish industry. Historically, Zeeland, and particularly its oyster capital Yerseke, had always been renowned for its fine oysters and mussels. Incidentally, Yerseke features one of the finest shellfish museums in Europe. One of the ports of this city is even reserved for so called "Mosselkotters" (mussel cutters), boats used for mussel and oyster harvesting. Spain, Portugal and Italy had always produced
a substantial quantity of oysters and continued to hold their
own. Great Britain, historically a key player in the oyster game
in Europe, was rapidly fading away due to over harvesting, pollution
and no cultivation efforts. British fish mongers were already
buying tons of Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) regularly
from oystermen in the U.S. to satisfy market demand at home.
The British supply of native European oyster was slim at best
by the 1930s. Most of the oystermen in classic British oyster
locales such as Colchester, Helford, Whitestable went out of
business. The once significant German oyster industry in the
Wadden Sea (Wattenmeer) had also failed due to over-harvesting.
Some severe winter kills of the European oyster had added to
the German oyster industry's failure.
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