Pearly White Beaches
A Brief History of Oysters in the San Francisco Bay
By Lauren Pedley
Jack London was an oyster pirate. Before the Bay Area's very own literary hero published any
written works, he robbed the San Francisco Bay of one of its most valuable shellfish. London wrote about his oyster high jinks
after joining the California Fish Patrol. In one of his stories,
London acknowledges that oyster thieves could cash in on
"thousands of dollars every year" from stealing oysters straight out of their beds. His involvement in the oyster trade of the
late 19th century is indicative of the role that oysters once played in both the San Francisco Bay Area's ecosystem and trade.
Oyster piracy was once a lucrative business in the Bay Area due to the abundance of the native California oyster--Ostreola conchaphila. These oysters were initially so plentiful in the bay that their crushed shells produced a "white, glistening beach that extend[ed] from San Mateo for a dozen or more miles southward." Researchers believe that before the widespread development of the Bay, this region had been home to oysters for centuries, citing evidence of oyster beds found in shell mounds dating back three to four thousand years.
California Native American shell mounds included large accumulations of oysters even within the Delta,
suggesting they were carried in trade. Furthermore, in 1912 and 1913, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
recorded the presence of native oyster shells extending from the Carquinez Straits to the Golden Gate, and into the South Bay.
Sadly, when the gold rush gained momentum in California in the mid-19th century, native California oysters lost their popularity. As restaurants catered their fare toward the growing groups of forty-niners, the flavor of native oysters was disdained. Changes in appetite gave rise to the introduction of foreign species into the San Francisco Bay, beginning with Mexican oysters--Ostrea chilensis. Entrepreneurs sought to meet the demand by ordering these oysters by the shipload from the South. However, many oysters died en route and the Mexican oyster never took a strong hold in the region.
Later in the 19th century, with the emergence of the transcontinental railway, the Bay Area started importing Eastern
oysters. These oysters failed to reproduce naturally in the region, making them an expensive venture. At the same time,
the predatory Atlantic oyster drill began to sweep the bay
and likely played a large role in the decline of the
native oyster populations.
Oyster populations in the Bay continued to decline after 1915, with a brief boost in the 1930's caused by the influx of Pacific oysters from Japan. Unfortunately, much like the Eastern oysters, the Pacific oyster relied on constant importation of new seed oysters, and was therefore unstable. World War II disrupted oyster seeding and ended oyster culture in the Bay.
Despite past proliferation and the wealth that ensued from harvesting oysters, today's San Francisco Bay is nearly oyster-less. The history of oysters' boom and subsequent elimination should inform any vision for a healthy bay. While the days of Bay Area pirates are happily behind us, pearly white beaches of oyster shells don't have to be.
