More Than a Century On, Native Olympia Oysters Return to SF Bay

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2021

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Native Olympia oysters were once abundant in the San Francisco Bay. But overharvesting and increasing sediment from the Gold Rush mining era had all but wiped them out by the 1860’s when they were a popular and cheap food. We’ll talk about how hard working oysters help clean waterways and provide important habitat for other sea life, and what efforts are underway to bring them back. And we’ll hear about why Olympia oysters were prized by indigenous peoples and miners alike. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for KikiWED podcasts comes from Landmark College, holding their annual summer institute for educators from June 24 through 26th.
0:09.1	More information at landmark.edu slash LCSI.
0:13.7	Support for Forum comes from Broadway SF, presenting Parade, the musical revival based on a true story.
0:21.3	From three-time Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown comes the story of Leo and Lucille Frank,
0:27.6	a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in Georgia.
0:31.6	When Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice, and
0:40.1	devotion. The riveting and gloriously hopeful parade plays the Orphium Theater for three weeks only,
0:47.1	May 20th through June 8th. Tickets on sale now at Broadway, sF.com.
0:54.6	From KQED.
0:56.0	From KQED.
1:12.8	I'm RET. I'm Rachel Myro.
1:15.9	Mmm, oh yeah.
1:24.3	Mmm, oysters, that's KQED reporter Chloe Veltman, conducting what is obviously grueling research for our podcast Bay Curious.
1:29.9	Native Olympia oysters are Ollie's, for short, range from Alaska Alaska to Mexico and they used to be abundant in the San Francisco Bay. We'll hear why they've all but disappeared and what
1:35.4	efforts are underway to bring them back. Later in the hour, we'll hear from Dr. Peter Chin Hong,
1:40.7	infectious disease specialist at UCSF Medical Center about our future with face masks
1:46.7	in a post-vaccine world. All that's next on Forum right after this news.
1:57.1	Welcome to Forum. I'm Rachel Myro. Native Olympia oysters or Ollie's prized by indigenous peoples were once abundant in the San Francisco Bay. But during the gold rush era, demand from oyster-loving newcomers outstripped supply. Also, miners dumped a lot of toxic sediment into the bay. Fast forward to today,
2:19.5	and you still wouldn't want to eat an ollie from local waters. Let's talk about their ideal place
2:25.5	in the ecosystem and why so many people still think of them as a tasty treat with Chloe Veltman,
2:31.6	reporter for KQED News and Linda Hunter, founder of the Wild Oyster Project.
2:37.9	Chloe, tell me first, how did those oysters you ate taste, and where were they from?
	...

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