Lagoon Island Pearl Farm

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

.... someone else can have my share of the oysters!

Oysters are best eaten raw, when they are tiny. 1-2 years old. Bigger ones get butterflied, shaken in seasoned flour and pan fried. The texture firms up nicely.

I have a cheater's version of Oysters Rockefeller. Instead of wrapping in spinach etc., I put all the ingredients (nectar, garlic, parmesean, etc) in the blender and pour the mixture on halfshelled oysters and put them under the grill until browned.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Incidentally, these clams are not indigenous to BC. Traditionally, there was only one species of "littleneck" clam (Protothaca staminea). They brought Japanese oysters (Crassostrea gigas) here in the 1930s. They had some hitch-hikers. Two clams... Venerupus philipinarium and Tapes japonica. aka Manila and Thin Shell clams.

The newcomers didn't compete for food, instead populating a higher region of the intertidal zone. They occur shallower within the substrate also. They tend to be less vulnerable to cold and frost than our local variety.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Great photos Dave. Really makes one want to come and visit, especially the seafood..... Dave is it Bring-Your-Own-Lemon up your way?

Lemons are great for cooked stuff, limes for raw.

Spot Prawns and Side Stripe Shrimp? Are these teaser enough?

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

PS, don't even get me started on crab.mmmmmmmm

Dungeness crabs are hugely plentiful. It's one of our biggest local fisheries and easy to catch.

Definitely needs garlic butter on the side. Maybe a dash of hot sauce

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Most crabs are trapped. The pots must be really heavy to prevent them from being dragged away with the tidal currents, especially when the floats get caught up with kelp and eel grass.

The container holding the bait must be strong too, or the crabs destroy it.

 

[pearlescence]

prawns, crabs, lobster - now you're talking. oysters....salt water jelly. I guess I have the wrong sort of taste buds or something

 

[GemGeek]

What exquisite torture - all these fabulous photos!

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

We moved the gear in yesterday.

The barrel of Jet-A was fuel for the helicopter's flight home.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Of course.... scenic pics.

 

[pearlescence]

okay, so how do you start a pearl farm? hire a spat charmer to lure the wee ones to your tender mercies?
Your can-do and am doing is brilliant. <applause>

 

[pattye]

Oh so exciting, Dave!

Just checked and it is roughly 11 hour drive from Portland Oregon, plus a few pit stops. Not that far!!

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

okay, so how do you start a pearl farm?

I held the lease several years ago. Much of my research is done, but there are always things to learn. I suppose in a perfect world, a good farm site is one that has natural recruitment the target species.

Then of course, you have to deal with government and regional districts by satisfying environmental, navigational and cultural requirements.

Fees, fees, fees.....

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Things at the farm are progressing nicely. The gatehouse (which is really a tent cabin) has been built at the lagoon.

The entrance to the lagoon itself is an archaeological site, where hundreds of years ago, natives trapped fish. There are also several rock structures known as "canoe runs". These were logs which were weighed down at either end with large stones. This allowed the natives to drag canoes to the high water mark, thus avoiding mud flats and allowing canoes to be launched during any tidal heights.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

The lagoon is a rich marine resource. Much of my time is spent documenting biomass inventories.

Not the best photography, but these pictures capture some of the diversity in the intertidal zone or water column. In fact, some areas of BC's marine environment have more species per unit square than anywhere in the world.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Just a few more scenic pictures of the sound.

 

[Caitlin]

Those are way scenic! Looking forward to the developments in this story!

 

[GemGeek]

Wow! Uber-diverse, I'd say!

 

[Chameleon]

How exciting! Beautiful places and pictures!

 

[Tango]

Wow, amazing pictures.

They look similar to the south of my country, very similar.

That?s a place to live.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Wow, amazing pictures.

They look similar to the south of my country, very similar.

That?s a place to live.

I've heard this before too. Mountains meeting the sea with estuaries and fjords, are a similar environment.

We are long overdue for earthquakes, though.