The oyster is a real treasure !
Not only for its richness and variety but also because it is a complete food , tonic, rich in quality protein , abundant in vitamins and minerals , and light ! 70 calories to about 12 oysters !
Between the Bay of Douarnenez and the estuary of the Loire, southern Brittany is a region privileged for breeding shellfish: oysters, mussels, cockles and clams.
In Southern Brittany, we can find different kind of oysters:
The oysters are the most widespread and most consumed in our coastal waters .
In France, as in most of the world, marketed oyster Crassostrea gigas is native from the Pacific Northwest.
It was introduced in France in the 1970s after the demise of Crassostrea angulata, also called Portuguese oyster, which was very present in France before being fully disseminated by a lightning disease.
The Crassostrea gigas is bred in the Arcachon basin and on the Atlantic coast.
There are oysters along the shoreline and preferably close to a river mouth or estuary.
The flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, oysters were the only known in France until the last century. Now considered the most rare, they are high in Britain as the Belon. The flat oyster, unlike oysters,
prefers deeper waters.