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.
The idiom "dressed to kill" refers to someone who is dressed very stylishly or glamorously. No expense has been spared in their choice of clothing. At one time, critters that were "dressed to kill" were often killed because of their raiment. Furs, bones and feathers were all the rage until someone came up with the idea that "Hey! You know, that might not be too fun for the animal/bird!" This thought saved the lives of countless critters that might have actually been hunted to extinction although it was too late for some. Many critters were mass slaughtered because they were too pretty.
The Great Egret is a perfect example of how near a critter can come to being killed completely from the face of the earth merely because of its beauty. In the late nineteenth century, plumes were highly sought and since the Great Egret had remarkably showy plumes, they were targeted. The birds were killed by the millions. Ladies with "style" wore their plumes proudly. They strutted about wearing dead bird parts on their hats and dresses. Plumes adorned sitting rooms and fans. All this while the bird population was becoming fewer and fewer. The birds became nigh on extinct. Then that bright person mentioned above had that light bulb moment and things slowly changed. Two fine ladies started the Audubon Society and urged Congress to pass laws protecting birds from this mass slaughter. Harriet Hemenway and Minna Hall started the ball rolling and things sort of spiraled upward from there. The egrets were protected by law but had a hard road ahead of them to replenish their population. Entire rookeries had been decimated.
I watched a Great Egret today as it waded in the Bayou. I could not get out to photograph it as we are in the midst of some weird storm that is supposed to dilly-dally around here for the next week. I did recall a photograph from months back that showed the bird in its full glory. I was witness to hundreds of Great Egrets that had gathered in the back of the Bayou during breeding season. Each bird wore its finest plumes and roosted in the treetops to preen. Occasionally, a large plume would float to the ground. I remember thinking how much nicer it would have been to collect those plumes as the birds molted and not kill such a majestic creature. I am sure glad that Ms. Harriet and Ms. Minna made the effort to have laws passed to protect critters. Had they not, chances are that I would not have had the opportunity to ever witness the beauty of these birds.
