The following excerpts have been borrowed with permission from an article published March 12, 2014 in the VIU Deep Bay Marine Field Station Updates. An Almost Forgotten History of Native Oysters on Vancouver Island contains fascinating snippets on oysters that date back to the 1850s.
1859: Rudolph’s Oyster Saloon in Victoria is advertised in the British Colonist (Victoria will not be a city for another three years.)[sg1]
1861: The first advertisement of oysters from Sooke – “constantly on hand” – appears for the Phoenix Saloon.
1862: An article in the British Colonist (October 21, 1862) reads, “People do not get enough oysters to eat. Were they cheaper, were they done up in a portable shape and hawked around town, the business would find employment for quite a number of persons. Bringing it down simply to the supply of our little market, it might be enlarged into quite an extensive and profitable business. Oyster-eating cities find employment for oyster diggers, oyster growers, oyster boats, oyster sloops.”
1865: There are now four oyster bars advertising in the Colonist – not bad for a community (Victoria, BC) of around 3,000 people.
1865: Oyster farming arrives in the Colony. In the British Colonist, a Mr. Busey is reported to have received permission to plant beds in Gorge Harbour to satisfy the “rage for oysters.” Less than a month later, Mr. Hughes reportedly launches extensive oyster farming in Oyster Harbour (now Ladysmith) (Times Colonist 1865, 10.11, pg 2).
1866: Oysters found in Baynes Sound seem to be pushing back against the import of Olympia Oysters (1866.09.27).
1872: An official report authored by the Honorable H. L. Langevin, Minister of Public Works, includes some enthusiastic predictions for BC fisheries and for oysters in particular. “Oysters – Are found in all parts of the Province. Though small in their native beds, they are finely flavored and of good quality. When, in the course of time, regular beds are formed, and their proper culture is commenced, a large export will no doubt take place both in a fresh and canned state. There is a large consumption of oysters in cans on the Pacific coast.”
1873: James Cooper, the Agent of the Department of Fisheries, suggests “(O)yster culture in the Province would soon become an important branch of industry if the rights of individuals were secured to them.”
1882: Inspector for Fisheries for BC Alex C. Anderson advises the Commissioner for Fisheries for Canada on probably the first oyster lease on the coast of BC and the potential for two more leases. The following year, Anderson reports collecting $50 from oyster fishery privileges and the issuance of two oyster fishery leases.
1889: Cowichan Indian Agent and Fisheries Guardian A.H. Lomas in the 1889 report calls for seasonal closures on oyster harvesting and suggests that private oyster culture should be encouraged. Declining oyster resources in the eastern provinces of Canada lead to new regulations to limit overfishing of the oyster beds, to implement harvest size limits and closed seasons, and to encourage privatization of the resource through lease designation.
[sg1]For this timeline section, could we do similar boxes as were used under "Shellfish Aquaculture": https://bcsga.ca/industry-overview/ but without the shellfish icons?
