This book provides a broad history of the West Coast oyster industry, comparing past and present practices in oyster resource management. A key theme is sustainability, and the chapters describe the skills, practices, and goals of the people involved in various aspects of the industry and how they are all interconnected to maintain oysters as a viable resource. There is information about oysters in Indigenous cultures and past and present Indigenous harvesting practices. High-quality photographs of oyster farms, canneries, can labels, and menus can serve as primary resources for researching the history of the industry, the role of the oyster during the war years, or the contribution of Asian immigrants to its success. There is a separate index for the many recipes for preparing oysters included in the book. This book will support cross-curricular learning as it brings together history, resource management, sustainability, ecology, and culinary arts.

Other End Matter: Endnotes
Images: Colour photographs, b&w photographs
Bibliography: No
Index: Yes

Source: Books BC - BC Books for Schools

David George Gordon is author of 22 books on topics ranging from slugs and snails to sharks and gray whales. He previously served as science writer for Washington Sea Grant.

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Samantha Larson is a science writer at Washington Sea Grant.

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MaryAnn Barron Wagner is the lead for communications at Washington Sea Grant.

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"Here’s a book with everything you ever wanted to know about oysters but were afraid to ask . . . There's a lot of history in these pages." —Stir