Oyster History
John McCabe

Oysters, in one form or another, have inhabited the oceans of our planet for hundreds of millions of years. Although all the creatures of the sea are surely significant in one way or another, I'm actually hard pressed to come up with any other clan of marine animals which can match the oyster's combined culinary, cultural, ecological, economic, medicinal, romantic, and mystic impact. Would it seem presumptuous to consider the humble oysters as the most significant sea creatures in the history of mankind?

Throughout the millennia, different groups within the noble oyster clan appealed to mankind in different ways. Accordingly, the history of the delicious and nutritious culinary oysters differs from that of the pearl oysters which have showered mankind with beautiful pearls and dazzling mother of pearl. This little history section pertains to the culinary oysters. The history of the pearl oysters will be discussed in the pearl oyster section at a later date.

The historical trail of culinary oysters is a long and complex one. It starts somewhere in some primordial muck that long predates the dinosaurs. We then meet Stone Age Man along the way who quickly qualifies oysters as rather "tasty rocks". The trail then leads on to the ancient Greeks and Romans. We discover that, in terms of oyster cultivation, they were just about as smart then as we are today. Right around the time of the Renaissance, the oyster trail starts to wind through an increasingly lush informational landscape. Soon thereafter, the world around us starts to change drastically and the historical oyster trail turns into a fast ride on a roller coaster with a few pieces of track missing. A paradigm shift becomes apparent, whereby the concept of oysters influencing mankind is replaced by the concept of mankind influencing oysters. The oyster trail almost ends in the 19th century, as mankind's unbridled harvesting fury and its pollution seriously threaten the very existence of oysters. By the time the 20th century rolls around, the western world begins to understand some of the basics of ecology. Some folks start to realize that protecting this world's precious natural resources is essential in protecting mankind from itself. Substantial oyster cultivation starts to flourish in many areas around the world. Just when things are starting to look up, oysters start killing many people by transmitting typhoid fever. Countless oyster consumers are now afraid of the oysters and the oyster industry takes a severe commercial beating. The government and several newly formed shellfishery associations push new sanitary standards and work hard to regain public confidence in oysters. The oyster industry subsequently rebounds again. The trail seems to near its end again in the middle of the 20th century with the advent of a number of horrific oyster diseases. Although they present no health threat to humans, billions of oysters die. Subsequently, the European oyster industry temporarily collapses. The oyster industry on the American eastern seaboard is ravaged as well, particularly the Chesapeake Bay and the northeastern coastal states. Meanwhile, the American Pacific Northwest emerges as an international power player in the oyster industry. Grass roots environmental groups start springing up all over the world. They courageously take on sectors of the government, military and industry and expose serious crimes committed against nature. Suddenly a fierce battle is on to keep our waters clean and or marine resources alive. By the end of the 20th century, a complex network of environmental regulation is in place in many western and some eastern countries. By now, mankind has again managed to produce staggering amounts of culinary oysters all over the world - particularly in Asia. The historical trail ends in present day early 21st century with the natural destruction and gradual recovery of vast oyster beds off Louisiana and Mississippi. Climatic changes have come to pass in our world. They seem to favor dangerous algae and bacteria blooms. The rampant oyster diseases of the past still exist. Mankind is humbled as no cure for any of them has been found. Countless Eastern oysters, with a potential life expectancy of 15 years or more, now die of natural causes in perhaps their third or fourth year. In a grotesque sort of way, many barely live long enough to reach marketable size. Harvesting oysters "in time" has gained a new meaning. The fear of new oyster diseases abounds. Marvelous steps have been taken in the area of oyster restoration - bringing oysters back in areas where they once existed in abundance. Oysters gain wide recognition as powerful catalysts and untiring builders of critically important marine eco-systems. The oyster trail then leads on into a most uncertain future.

At times, I found it difficult to follow the oyster's historical trail - in a pleasant sort of way, however, much like reefing the sail on the little oyster skiff on a pleasant day, letting go of the tiller and just allowing the ocean current and wind take me where it will - for a little while. In doing so, I ended up in some wondrous places that have little or nothing to do with oysters, some of which I can only begin to understand. Hence, should you happen upon some historical rambling which has absolutely nothing to do with oysters, you'll know what happened.