The scientists helping Hong Kong’s oyster farmers get over hard times
For 700 years, the oyster beds of Lau Fau Shan have been producing the prized shellfish, but they’ve lost their lustre amid contamination fears linked to climate change. A four-part plan aims to revive the industry
This time last year, Chan Yu-tong was working flat out on his annual oyster harvest at Lau Fau Shan. From first light he would take his sampan out to oyster rafts anchored in the middle of Deep Bay. Filling the boat with the bivalves that had been suspended underwater, he would ferry his load to a processing facility on the waterfront, where they were shucked and washed.
Half the shellfish would be sent to local barbecue venues, while the rest would be partly dried in the sun over a couple of days to make “golden” oysters, a delicacy the area is known for and an auspicious ingredient favoured for Lunar New Year banquets. But on a recent Friday, the waterfront at Lau Fau Shan is strangely sleepy. Harvest, it turns out, is late this year.
For the past 40 years, Chan had begun gathering his oysters in September after the Mid-Autumn Festival. By the following month he would have shipped off 80 per cent of his stock, keeping the remainder till the Lunar New Year, when he can expect better prices.
“But we haven’t been blessed with fine weather this year. The oysters aren’t plump enough,” he says.
A fully developed 10cm oyster can weigh up to 114 grams, but the flesh now is only a third of the usual size, says Chan, who is chairman of the Deep Bay Oyster Cultivation Association.
