Unlocking the business of oysters

Glenneis Kriel caught up with Kevin Ruck and Gabriel Lee to learn more about the production of these succulent bivalves.

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So, you love oysters and have been toying with the idea of starting your own oyster farm. How difficult can it be?

Well, according to Kevin Ruck, the owner of Blue Sapphire Pearls, it is not that difficult at all: "As a matter of fact, it has many similarities with on land production. So, if you can produce vegetables, you can probably produce oysters, although it has its own set of unique challenges," he grins.

Studying marine biology, as Ruck did, would provide some valuable insights, but it is not a prerequisite for success. "You do not need to be a marine biologist to make it work, you just need to stick to the basics of production, and navigate quite a few administrative and financial hurdles," Ruck adds.

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Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) are the main species used, internationally and in South Africa, to produce culinary oysters. Introduced to this country decades ago, they are now considered naturalised.

South Africa's indigenous species are wild harvested, but enabling commercial production would require extensive research and development into the spawning and hatching of these species.

Pacific oysters are also different from the species used to produce pearls (Pinctada maxima). The production of pearl oysters is forbidden in South Africa, because these are invasive, whereas Pacific oysters are not.

Production starts off with juvenile oysters (spat or seed), grown large enough at a hatchery to 'plant out'. There are three of these hatcheries in South Africa, situated in an estuary in Hamburg in the Eastern Cape, Paternoster in the Western Cape, and Kleinzee in the Northern Cape.