So...what is true??

  The other day, we heard of an incident where a man was arrested for "opening" oysters in his back yard.  He could not understand why it happened as he had "been openin' them all my life."  The story grew and grew (as tales do when they are passed around from one person to another) until the whole thing was out of hand.  Just what was true??  Why had this long time oyster shucker arrested?  I figured we had better get to the bottom of this since just about every local person has a pile of shells in their backyard from such activity...us included. Something did not add up with the story being told.

  Well, a bit of research...a lot of reading...and a couple of phone calls gave us a much clearer picture.  Come to find out, it is quite ok to buy a few sacks of oysters (from wherever as long as the sacks are tagged), bring them home and open them...for personal use.  You can eat them, share them with friends or even have everyone over for a meal but...it is not ok to shuck the oysters then sell them.  To do this, you need to prepare.  You have to obtain a license to sell seafood, have an enclosed area where the shucking takes place, devise a method of keeping the oysters (both in shell and shucked) cold and keep everything clean.  This is all for good reason and the way things should be handled.   With the recent uproar about Vibrio causing so many deaths, it is wise to use caution.  The "flesh-eating" bacteria can be found in raw oysters at times and it multiplies rapidly as the oysters warm.  Anyone eating an oyster containing the bacteria can be severely harmed or killed.  Duh...number one...keep those things cold!  Number two...it is not wise to eat raw seafood of any kind...oysters included.  And, yep, I know folks are going to put up a stink about that one but, when faced with the possibility of that oyster killing you, you might want to consider what you are putting in your mouth.  

  So..it is safe to say that the whole story was not put out there, at least, not fully and correctly.  No one was arrested for shucking oysters.  The guy was arrested for not following laws that were made for the protection of others.  Makes sense.  It is quite ok for you and your buddies to sit in the backyard, shuck a few oysters and tell tall tales to your hearts' content.  Feel better?  A lot of folks down here do now that they know the facts.