Oyster depuration: one answer to polluted estuaries

Abstract

Most of the oysters commercially produced in the Philippines come from the largest island, Luzon, raised near Cavite in Manila Bay or Dagupan City in Pangasinan. In both sites, the oysters are grown estuaries in close proximity to sewage outfalls of major urban centers, thus getting contaminated. Traditionally, marketing has been the responsibility of the wives of oyster farmers. Often, oysters are sold in-shell. Otherwise, they are shucked by the wives who have little knowledge of sanitation. To survive, the last remaining oyster exporter in the Philippines, Value Trading Co. of Dagupan City, in cooperation with government and international agencies, recently put into operation the first oyster depuration facility and sanitary packing operation in the Philippines.