David Chai, an aquaculturalist at the exclusive Hualalai Resort on Hawaii Island, zips around the expansive 865-acre property in a golf cart—fitting, as his prized crop is raised in a golf course water feature. “We’ve had oysters in here since 2003, but they were more for a purpose,” he said. “We tried to raise fish here and oysters were actually the key to controlling the abundance and density of algae [that would choke out the fish] because they are so efficient at filtering.” It wasn’t until years later, in 2015, when the pond had reached a happy balance of fish, algae, and oysters, and proper permitting was in place, that Chai began harvesting the tasty bivalves exclusively for the resorts’ restaurants, where they remain a popular menu item.
It may seem strange—getting your slurp-worthy appetizer from a Hawaii golf course pond—but these are no ordinary oysters, and this is no ordinary pond. Fully-lined and surrounded by drainage channels that funnel runoff away from its waters, all of the ponds’ water and nutrient inputs are carefully controlled. There are none of the parasites or predators that can occur in ocean-based oyster farms, and Chai says not only do his oysters grow with lower mortality rates than in traditional, ocean-based oyster farms, but they can also be easily harvested, twice-weekly and year-round by staff in waders. As for the water temperature? “Pacific oysters do fine in warm water,” says Chai. “In fact, they grow faster. We can get a harvestable oyster in six months, whereas on the Mainland, it takes over a year.”
In this small-scale operation, producing between 400 to 1,000 oysters per week, even the oysters themselves are controlled and can be customized: Chai and his team spin the cylindrical cages where the oysters grow each week to avoid algae growth and sharp edges on shells; when rounded by the cage rotation, oysters’ shells grow into deeper, more desirable cups. Before serving, oysters are bathed in filtered water with just the right level of saltiness. “An oyster is only as salty as its last drink,” says Chai, “and we can tweak those levels based on input from the guests and the chef.”
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Hawaii Magazine