THE HISTORY OF
OYSTERS IN DONEGAL ysters were once a common food all along the European coastline, but overfishing in the 1800s resulted in them becoming a little known luxury. Despite this, Ireland is now one of the few European countries where there are still wild, self-sustaining native oyster beds.
O
About 100 years ago the first attempt was made to cultivate oysters in Ireland. It is only in the last 30 years that this has become successful. Two types of oyster are now cultivated in Ireland - the native European oyster or flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) and the Irish rock oyster (Crassostrea gigas). The Irish rock oyster was introduced to Ireland in the late 1970s and is now the predominant oyster found in Ireland. The history of oyster-fishing in Ireland is documented back to the 1500s, though details of oyster fisheries in Donegal - in particular, Lough Foyle are not recorded until 1836. John Barrow, who visited the area in 1832, stated that he was given to understand that “there is an extensive oyster bank in the Lough…” These oyster beds in Lough Foyle were
referred to in 1846 and again in 1864, where forty or fifty boats were said to have been engaged in the fishing compared to eight boats in 1836. Locals could not avail of this food source during the famine period as control of the fisheries was usually enforced by the local landlord. These oysters were then exported to markets in England. Oyster consumption became extremely popular throughout the 1800s. Along with this rise in popularity the arrival of
the railways allowed quick and efficient transport to the main markets in Britain. Coupled with this, Irish oysters were also being exploited for restocking in the English and French fisheries resulting in significant impacts on juvenile oysters. This ultimately led to the demise or over exploitation of many of the Irish oyster fisheries at the beginning of the 20th century. One attempt in 1903 to try and alleviate this problem involved Lord Wallscourt experimenting unsuccessfully with foreign oyster stocks. He established
