THE JUICY OYSTER.

Shannon News, 21 June 1927, Page 1

THE JUICY OYSTER.

MEANS OF CONSERVATION.

AUCKLAND PREPARING FOR SEASON If New Zealand were a land of epicures, writes the "New Zealand Herald", Wednesday of nejct week would be made something of a gala day, for is it not the opening—happy word —of the rock oyster season? Perhaps the occasion ia neglected because the people of this favoured land are spoiled by a paternal Government which sells -■ them by the sackful at an absurdly low, price for which gourmands in other climes would gladly pay many shillings a dozen. All New Zealanders who relish sea-food should thank the State for preserving to them a delicacy which would otherwise have been all but lost.

Although oysters are still forbidden fruit, the Government's pickers have been working for nearly a fortnight in readiness for the rush of orders on June 15. Several schooner loads have already reached the waterside depot near the City Markets from the beds in the gulf, and other consignments are due from the North. Experts at Work.

In the picking season, which runs from June to September, the Marino Department keeps between 30 and 40 men employed on the Auckland beds,

The pickers employed by the Government are mostly elderly men who spend the off-season in fishing. Some have been at the work for year? past. They receive 7s for every sack picked, with a maximum of 21s a day. This limit is so because three sackfuls is a fair day's result if the picker does his work carefully. Detaching- oysters from the rocks is not as simple a matter as eome might think, and for that reason the average poacher l leaves behind him a trail that can be followed months after. The picker works with a small hand-pick Bin or 9in. across the points. The main thing is to judge the age of an oyster correctly, and to

l»er^t~c r lF~th"<r the lower shell. Those on either side must not be injured. If the shell is damaged the liquor within will leak out and the oyster will die and go bad very soon, instead of living for two or three w r eeks, as it will if properly treated. The experienced man can judge from the thickness and colour of the closed shell whether the oyster is of the right age for picking. When young it ia comparatively flat, but in the course of a few seasons the shell become plump and the distinctive scalloped edges are less noticeable. The rate of development depends a good deal on the food supply and other conditions about which little Is known. Breeding and Rearing. In picking, too many oysters must not b e removed from a patch, since some have to be left for breeding purposes and to provide shelter for the floating young ones or "spat", when they affix themselves to the rock. The poacher very often leaves the lower shell still in place; in fact, the conspicuous white patches formed in this way are the commonest sign of his depradatior.a. - No oyster will ever fasten on to an old shell, and the procers ,if carried on for some years, ia guaranteed to ruin a bed completely. Oysters live between high and low tides, but it is found that those on the lower levels ar e in the best condition, because they have a longer period of submersion each day. Their food consists of small water-borne organisms, and the further an oyster is below h.igh.water mark the more opportunities it has for feeding. Unfortunately tho "spat" in the spawning season tends to be borne upwards by the water, and for this reason many oysters are found so high on the rocks as to submerged only a ttw hours out of the twenty-four. They are not as a rule picked for the market, being watery, thin and greenish in colour, instead of plump and creamy white.

In systematic cultivation, which has been carried out with success at Coromandel and in the Bay of Islands, walls of rock are built in suitable

places. The stones are packed close so as to leave few crevices and a line of loose cap-stones is placed on top. It is found the young oysters tend to attach themselves to the under-side of the cap-stones. When this has gone on long enough, the stones are removed and laid at a" lower level, so that the oysters may have the best possible food.supply. New stones" are laid on the walls,, and the process is repeated until the: wholes aroala fully Btocked. • ■.'..'." it J