Farming the sea, just like farming the land, requires hard work, patience and a good knowledge of the environment that makes up and surrounds the farm.

Hog Island Oyster Company’s shellfish farm is located in the Tomales Bay near Point Reyes in Northern California. The company has been sustainably farming oysters since 1983 when three marine biologists, who happen to love to eat, decided to use their knowledge and savvy to produce the best tasting oysters locally. John Finger, a biologist-turned-oyster farmer and co-owner of the Hog Island Oyster Company, agreed to take me out onto the bay and into the oyster beds to teach me about how oysters grow and what makes these oysters so good. John explained that the shellfish are constantly filtering water through their open shells as they lie on the sea floor. This water is very clean and full of nutrients and that means the oysters are healthy and in turn, they help keep the water clean by constantly filtering. It’s a symbiotic relationship. Keeping the waters clean allows all of the sea life, not just the shellfish to thrive and in order to have good, clean and healthy seafood to eat, then the waters must be pristine and harvested in a responsible way.

It can be confusing to try and understand what kinds of fish are raised or caught in waters that are healthy and also when it is o.k.to eat certain types of fish during the year. Sometimes, for a few different reasons, fish are placed on a list that dictates whether it is o.k. for commercial fisherman to catch them. Overfishing of certain breeds is one of those reasons. Also, some fish are good to eat at certain times of the year because of their breeding habits.

“Seafood Watch” is a great guide to buying seafood and the fishing industry and you can find them on-line here.