Oysters

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks, Laurie. So oysters are affordable for everyone?! As for "oysters were best when coming from cool waters", in cool waters <20℃ (70℉), oysters wouldn't spawn, and if they do they neither look nor taste (it's said) well. There are some other "r-rule" origins, e.g. that due to exessive consume and export to England and Holland, in 1759, the French prohibited oysterfishing from April - October in order to protect the oyster population, and protect the animals especially during spawn season.

Laurie, when researching "oysters in the US", I found this BTW: "While dredges collect oysters more quickly, they heavily damage the beds, and their use is highly restricted. Until 1965, Maryland limited dredging to sailboats, and even since then motor boats can be used only on certain days of the week." Also I read that the old-time Indians BBQed them over open fire.

PS: The Baltic Sea isn't salty enough for oysters (actually the salt concentration equals that of tears, so you can open your eyes under water), so no oysters here. But one of my favorite birds is the oystercatcher (and these we do have):