Ostrea lurida, how we miss thee!

Native West Coast oysters known as Olympia oysters (Ostrea lurida) could once be found in great abundance from Alaska to Mexico and were a key food source for Native Americans and early settlers. While they may still appear today, the Olympia oyster is "functionally extinct" according to a recent San Francisco Chronicle article. The oysters we occasionally enjoy these days are actually farm-raised Japanese Pacific oysters. Personally, I love oysters and can only imagine, with envy, a day when they were a local staple found throughout SF Bay. However, personal taste and diet are trivial compared to the profound impact the demise of the native Olympia oyster has on the ecosystems of SF Bay and other areas. Olympia Oyster beds provide critical habitat for small fish, crabs, anemones, and other marine life. In addition, as a bivalve they are filter feeders who each clean gallons per day of pollutants. It's difficult to envision, but when Olympia oyster beds were found throughout SF Bay, residents regularly ate oysters and the Bay itself would have been significantly cleaner, more biodiverse, and literally teeming with marine life.

Sidebar: The Olympia oyster's taxonomy can be confusing. Ostrea lurida and Ostreola conchaphila are often considered to be synonymous. However, a 2009 study published in the Journal of Shellfish Research provides molecular evidence that they are indeed distinct species.