There are some amazing restaurants and bars that offer these tasty bivalves as either a cooked or raw menu item. Oyster bars are a real draw for a lot of gourmets and the fresh, locally harvested varieties are available right through the year. Places such as Double's Oyster Bar and Pescatores in Victoria and Rodney’s Oyster Bar in Vancouver offer the fresh shucked oysters as well as cooked varieties such as the world famous Oysters Rockefeller and Peppered Oysters.

The predominant species is the large, fast growing, sweet white-fleshed Pacific Oyster. This species was originally seeded from Japanese Oysters brought over in the 1920's. They are harvested year round but are especially tasty in the fall and winter months. You may remember the old saying about eating oysters being best during months that contain the letter "r". Well that is probably a very good rule of thumb to follow.

It might interest you to know that virtually all of the Pacific Oyster harvest comes from farms. Wild oyster beds exist but are relatively small in size or widely dispersed. If you kayak around Vancouver Island’s bays and inlets you will probably find wild oysters clinging to the rock just below the surface of the water. They are tasty. But remember, we occasionally have a little problem with a blight called "red-tide" which can taint the product but this is a summertime phenomena and is communicated to us by the media if there is a problem.

If you want wild bivalves, you’ll probably have more luck with some of the native clam species. If you want to give your taste buds a real treat dig up some Butter Clams on the tidal flats of the coast in places such as Rathtrevor Beach (close to Parksville). A permit costs very little and these small sweet-fleshed clams are filled with good eating. If you harvest them remember to immerse them in clean water laced with cornmeal for a few hours. This will clean any sand out of these beauties and ensure that you have a dentist-free meal after you quickly boil them until they open up. If you are dining at a restaurant, ask your server about the availability of fresh butter clams or littleneck or manila clams. They are all great.

Scallop lovers will also be happy to know that we have two types of indigenous scallop species, namely spiny and pink. Both are sweet and moist with a slightly chewy texture. They are only available in shucked form since the scallop is unable to close its shell completely after capture. We get a lot of east coast scallops brought into our province but make it a point to ask for the West Coast varieties. You will be glad you did. After all, they don't have to travel as far.

Finally, our mussel harvest is starting to expand quite nicely, The Blue Mussel is the most common of the mussel family on the west coast and has a pale orange colour to its slightly chewy flesh. Mussel specials are quite common in our restaurants and these bivalves cooked in wine, garlic and butter is an economical way to have some great seafood. Once again, ask your server if these are local or not. Enjoy!