What Do Oysters Eat and What Makes Them So Delicious?
Do you know what oysters eat? Our delectable Sanctuary Oysters are filter feeders, which means they eat by filtering large volumes of water. Oysters open up their two hinged shells to draw water across their gills. Throughout the day, they filter feed on phytoplankton or algae in the ocean water.
On average, a single oyster can filter up to 30 gallons of water per day. The more algae and microorganisms there are in the water, the more our oysters can eat. While sourcing nutrients by filter-feeding, oysters are simultaneously cleaning the ocean. In doing so, they are helping other organisms thrive since clear water allows more sunlight to reach them. While processing water, the nutrients oysters don’t need for themselves get moved farther down the water column to other species.
We make sure our oysters get the highest quality nourishment by raising them in the perfect environment and do it in a safe manner to help preserve healthy seafood populations. The location where we raise oysters affects the quality of their diet and helps them develop their delectable flavor. Oysters develop different flavors depending on various environmental attributes: the types of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and other microorganisms; the water depth; the water temperature; the tidal activity; and the salinity in water.
We grow and harvest our delicious oysters in the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Baja California. The coastal lagoon has a unique ecosystem and is full of nutrient-rich phytoplankton for our Pacific oysters to feed on. It’s the perfect environment to grow our oysters since the water is clean and protected from development. We cultivate our oysters in a pristine location with an abundance of algae to make them the tastiest they can be! The results? We end up with delicious Pacific Oysters that have an impeccable clean, briny yet sweet, rich taste.
Are you interested in indulging in some Sanctuary Oysters? Send us an email at info@solazul.com.mx.
Resources:
Oysters: Recipes That Bring Home a Taste of the Sea by Cynthia Nims