Despite Japan being a major oyster producer, product from Washington State’s Puget Sound and Australia’s Coffin Bay are also imported and sold here.
Japan produces about 200,000 metric tons in-shell weight, or 34,000 MT of meats, annually, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. US oyster production was 15,786 MT of meats as of 2012, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service, with 10,659 MT, or about two-thirds, of this on the West Coast. In the same year, Australia produced 15,370 MT, about the same as the United States.
Given that Japan’s production exceeds that of the US and Australia combined, importing oysters may seem to be a case of carrying coals to Newcastle, but these oysters manage to find a market amid so much competition because they appeal to the niche market for half-shell raw consumption.
A case in point is a promotion by Ikari Supermarket. The chain, based in Nishimomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, featured the imports in its weekly advertising insert (Nov 19-23) as an accompaniment to the release of the 2015 Beaujolais Nouveau wine. Puget Sound product was touted as big and plump, while Coffin Bay oysters were plugged as free of norovirus, due to the clean water. Offered prices, respectively, were JPY 780 (USD 6.35, EUR 5.98) for a pack of 3, and JPY 980 (USD 7.98, EUR 7.51) for a pack of 5.
The manager of an Ikari seafood department said, “We sold out the imported oysters we had in last week, and now we have only the Japanese oysters. They are featured occasionally. For eating raw, the imported oysters are better. There’s less risk of norovirus.”
Fried oysters (kaki-fry) and oyster hotpot (kaki-nabe), both cooked dishes, are the most typical Japanese oyster dishes. The Japanese do occasionally eat their domestic oysters raw, but they also suffer many resulting incidents of norovirus poisoning. Norovirus is responsible for 99 percent of food poisonings in the country, according to a report of Japan’s Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, and most cases are tracked to consumption of raw oysters. From 2003 to 2011, there were 327 poisoning incidents associated with oysters. Sushi was second at 111.
Other cases were mainly transmission to foods from an infected food handler, due to failure to properly wash hands after defecating. In this category, incidents at banquets and catered events were most prevalent. A cycle of re-infection is created when infected feces enters the sea and infects oysters, and consumption of oysters spreads the virus among diners. As Japan is a densely populated country, it is difficult to prevent such sewage contamination, making cooking the safest measure.
Australia currently exports about three percent of its production, with 80 percent of that going to Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, according to industry group Oysters Australia. Guangzhou, China is an emerging market for Australia. The main species are the dominant Pacific Oyster (Crassostea gigas), the Sydney Rock Oyster (Saccostrea glomera) and the Angasi (Ostrea angasi). Interest in farming the Angasi is increasing, due to recent outbreaks of Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome (POMS), which only affects Pacific Oysters. POMS is not harmful to humans. The Sydney Rock Oyster suffers from QX disease, but researchers have selectively bred QX-resistant Sydney Rock Oysters.
Puget Sound also produces three species of oyster: The Pacific, the Kumamoto (Crassostrea sikamea) and the native Olympia (Ostrea lurida). The latter two are small. Exports are, as in Australia, mainly Pacifics.
