Delicate fluting of the shells makes an attractive presentation in the restaurant or supermarket. To produce the kind of oyster that can command a high price requires strict control over the culture process. Oyster grown in a tray at Pearl Seaproducts. Several tray designs have been used in British Columbia for oyster production. Adequate water flow through the tray is critical to obtain maximum growth rates for the oysters.
Poor flows mean less nutrients.
The Nestier tray, below, was designed so that oysters could be spread in a single layer in the tray, and trays fit into one another to create a tray stack, essentially a multi-storey oyster dwelling. These Nestier trays, formed into stacks, must be fastened together with strapping or other material to hold the stack intact. It is sometimes difficult to achieve adequate water flow through these trays which means full growth potential of the oysters may not be realized. Nestier trays are usually tied into stacks using some kind of strapping material which must be undone when grading or harvesting oysters. If the stacks are to be hung from rafts or longlines, special rigging must be devised to keep the stacks hanging vertically in the water.