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Seafood Watch - Seafood Guide

Oysters

© Scandinavian Fishing Yearbook/www.scandfish.com
SEAFOODRATINGMARKET NAMESWHERE CAUGHTHOW CAUGHT
Oysters Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. American Oyster, Blue Points Oyster, Common Oyster, Kaki Worldwide Farmed
Oysters Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. American Oyster, Blue Points Oyster, Common Oyster, Kaki U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Canada Wild-caught


Oysters, Farmed

Farmed oysters account for 95 percent of the world’s total oyster consumption. Most oyster farming operations are very well managed and produce a sustainable product.

Consumer Note

Farmed oysters are available year-round and can be served raw, smoked, canned or frozen. Oysters are known as kaki when prepared for sushi.

Summary

Like clams, mussels and scallops, oysters are filter-feeding shellfish that are extremely well-suited to aquaculture. Farming oysters brings little risk of pollution or escapees, and habitat effects from the farms are minimal.

Unlike some farmed fish, oysters minimally impact marine resources as they don’t rely on wild-caught fish – in the form of fishmeal or fish oil – for food. And, thanks to the oyster’s filter-feeding action, oyster farms can actually benefit the surrounding coastal waters.

With their low habitat impacts, farmed oysters are a “Best Choice.”


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