Bluff Oysters Festival

Bluff

New Zealand Geographic

  Foveaux Strait  — Bluff oysters

Oysters Bluff Whole In Shell

OYSTERING

Bluff Oysters & Oystering

Some say that Bluff oysters are the finest in the world. They are grown slowly in the cold clean waters of the Foveaux Strait. In season, (March till about August) they are dredged by Bluffs oyster fleet.

Oystering first began commercially at Stewart Island in the 1860s. Coastal cutters were simply beached on the beds at high tide and the oysters shovelled aboard as the tide dropped. The catch was transported in the shell to the mainland and right from the outset demand was so high that within a few years the beds were exhausted. Depleting beds caused the closure of the harvesting in 1877. In 1879 new larger beds were discovered in deeper water and the centre of activity gradually shifted from Stewart Island to Bluff.

 

Although commonly known as the Bluff oyster, it is known by others names, including mud oyster, flat oyster, dredge oyster, Foveaux Strait oyster and deep water oyster.The species is actually found throughout New Zealand, but is most common in the south.

 

A quota system was introduced in 1963, the twelve oyster boats then engaged in the industry being set a limit of 170,000 sacks per season (each sack containing, on average, 800 oysters). The quota was progressively reduced until in 1970 with 23 boats operating, it was 115,000 or 5000 per boat (in eating terms that equates to two dozen oysters for every man, woman and child in the country). Seasons were relatively good until the 1986/87 season when the beds were struck by the parasitic protozoan Bonamia. This caused the oysters to become watery and black. Because of the Bonamia the season was ceased in 1991 and did not reopen until 1994 with a limited quota and fewer boats. Fortunately the oyster populations have been recovering, and quotas are gradually being increased.

 

When oystering first began it was a race to get the first oysters back to the wharf. Today some boats are met by helicopters who whisk the oysters away to be distributed throughout the country.

 

Perhaps the best time to visit and taste our oysters is when we hold our famous Bluff Oyster and Food Festival, usually the last weekend in May.

 

Fresh Oysters are available in season at the 4Square Supermarket in Gore Street, and at Fowlers Oysters – on the left as you approach Bluff on State Highway 1.

 

 

Bluff Hill

 

Bluff Oyster and Food Festival

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SikjnqBO7qM 

 

 

Journey of the BLUFF OYSTER from ocean floor to plate | New Zealand Food Tour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpzR5NKu8cA 

This episode kicks off at the very bottom of Te Wai Pounamu, the South Island in a town called Bluff. Bluff is home to the best oyster in the world- the Bluff oyster! The Bluff oyster or Bluffie as it's often called locally is sold only in New Zealand. There is a strict quota system and once all the oysters are caught for the season (approximately March to August) that's it! We head out with the team from Fowlers Oysters to the Foveaux Strait to catch the oysters before returning to shore to watch them shuck the oysters before we eat! Get ready for never before seen, exclusive access of the Bluff Oyster’s journey from ocean floor to plate.

Aotearoa New Zealand has a rich food culture that revolves around the land and the fresh food it provides. In this massive NZ series we’re travelling the length of Aotearoa to take you into the heart of New Zealand’s cuisine. We’ll share how New Zealander’s gather and cook from the land, take you into the kitchens of New Zealand’s favourite restaurants and uncover the traditional food of Aotearoa. #newzealand #bluffoysters #oysters

What we ate and where we ate it:

1. Bluff oysters at Fowler Oysters, 99 Ocean Beach Road, Bluff 9814, New Zealand. Open daily during the Bluff oyster season which runs approximately from March to August.

WORLD'S RAREST OYSTER! Journey of the BLUFF OYSTER from ocean floor to plate | New Zealand Food Tour

2019 Bluff Oyster Festival

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuXyeuu1AG0