Oysters have provided food for humans for millennia, and play an enormous role in sustaining estuaries around the world. Yet after more than a century of overfishing, pollution, disease and habitat degradation, oyster populations in the Chesapeake Bay and elsewhere have suffered dramatic declines. But for thousands of years,American Indians in the region harvested the shellfish from the Bay sustainably—a discovery published Monday that could offer clues for future oyster restoration.

"Estuaries are dynamic ecosystems where saltwater from the sea enters creeks and rivers with the rise and fall of the tides.

They are recognised for their importance in decreasing the effects of flooding and storm surges, their importance commercially and recreationally and their cultural significance all over the world as food sources and transportation routes." - Alasdair McDonald, Bega District News.

An interview with filmmaker Kim Beamish and Sophie Longden from ABC South East NSW about the documentary, 'Oyster', aims to highlight the very direct effects of change on local environments along our inland waterways and estuaries. A kick start fundraising campaign is currently underway to take the production of Oyster to the next level. Kim Beamish recently joined Sophie Longden in the studios of ABC South East about this innovative merger between arts, the environment and the local oyster industry...

The rumble of the carriages began to seem like thunder, in the stench of the street I distinguished a thousand smells. The restaurant lights and the lamps dazzled my eyes like lightning. My five senses were overstrained and sensitive beyond the normal. I began to see what I had not seen before. 

"Oysters . . ." I made out on the placard. 

The farm-to-table movement has caused oyster farming on the East Coast to double in the past six years, and the industry has shown no signs of slowing. But not only is the mollusk's mighty comeback good for consumers and fishermen — it's also good for waterways.

It's about making sure people are aware of their local environment and making sure they're looking at ways to adapt to the changes that are happening. The film is just a medium to do that.

Geordie's first oyster. Drama and worcestershire sold separately.

Sebastian Elrite will be your captain. He's a knowledgeable character who's right at home on the water. Elrite does a great job of explaining the history and logistics of oyster farming. There's a lot to it. Did you know the humble oyster sways with the tides for up to two years before being buttered, slathered in hot sauce, barbecued, broiled or simply eaten alive? Prepare to improve your crossword skills by learning new words like spat, mothershell, merroir and Kumamoto.

The question: can oysters increase your chances of a second date? Absolutely, maybe even more so than sushi. To sum up my point, let’s review the math: adventure + novelty + lots of omega-3 = successful date! Throw in a handsome, charming, outgoing chef to facilitate the evening and you just might meet your soul mate.

If the oyster is an instrument of seduction then we Australians really need to work on our technique. Less than 10 per cent of all oysters we consume annually are opened fresh; the rest are served dead, rinsed of all personality and wilting on a half-shell. Hardly the stuff of romance.

We should, instead, be shucking our own, understanding regional differences, and even, eventually, identifying the unique characteristics of each – much the same as we do now with wines.

That may sound farfetched, but industry experts are confident it won't be long before the average Australian can identify the rich, creamy, seaweedy notes of a Tasmanian Pacific from the saltier, higher-iodine offerings of South Australia's west coast.

A look through Indigenous Australian art will find many stories about collecting oysters. The painting above by Linda Namiya Bopirri is titled 'Oyster Dreaming'.

The Yolngu people from south east Arnheim land in the very north of Australia have been trading with the people of what is now known as Indonesia for a long time before the white man arrived. There is every chance that oysters where one of the items traded between these peoples.

The very first European account of the lands of the Inca Empire describes a trading raft laden with riches. In 1525, Francisco Pizarro's expedition encountered the indigenous sailing craft off the coast of Tumbez, just south of the equator. Filled with objects of gold and silver, including crowns, diadems, belts, bracelets, leg ornaments, and breast plates, the raft's cargo also included emeralds, crystal, and amber, as well as many elaborately decorated and richly worked garments made from wool and cotton. To the astonishment of the Spaniards, these fineries were traded for coral-colored seashells, undoubtedly spondylus, a marine bivalve known as the thorny oyster.