Fun Facts

Enjoy these “Pearls of Wisdom” . . . oyster facts that may surprise you

1. Oysters are meatier in months that have “r” in their names. So you may hear people call them “arsters.”
2. Oysters have the ability to change their sex.
3. Eating four oysters a day gives you a complete daily supply of copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and zinc.
4. Oysters are rich in vitamins A, C, D and B-12. B-12 is well-known to help people lose weight and sharpen their memory.
5. When oyster larvae (baby oysters) attach themselves to a hard material, like an oyster shell, they are called “spat.”
6. Wild and hatchery-raised oyster larvae prefer to attach to other oyster shells as they grow.
7. Legend holds that the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, emerged from the sea in an oyster shell.
8. Oyster farms improve the health of nearby waterways.
9. Oysters help waterways by eating algae, filtering out particulates and excess nutrients and creating habitat for other organisms to thrive.
10. Oyster reefs are one of the crucial components needed for Chesapeake Bay recovery.
11. The Chesapeake Bay loses an estimated 2,600 acres of oyster beds annually due to silt and sediments that cover them.
12. The same type of oyster tastes different depending on where it was raised.
13. The Eastern or American Oyster can be found from Canada to Argentina.
14. Pearls used in jewelry are produced in clams and mussels, not oysters as commonly believed.
    

    Campers learned about oysters at the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center Camp in Grasonville, Maryland.