tyne valley oyster festival hopes to bring a little light to dark days in p.e.i.'s oyster industry
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the oyster shucking championship is a staple of the tyne valley oyster festival. contributed
journal pioneer
the tyne valley oyster festival will be held, despite high mortality rates faced by the industry.
every year, the tyne valley oyster festival goes through an estimated 20,000 oysters – the suppers alone use about 14,000.
it’s a big event, and one centred around an industry presently undergoing some serious struggles in p.e.i.
even so, festival chairperson richard robinson expects that this year’s festival will go on, business as usual, with plenty of oysters to go around.
for the second year in a row, growers, fishers and processors have been combating high rates of oyster death due to the diseases msx and dermo, which can cause up to a 90 to 95 per cent mortality rate in infected specimens.
“we’ve been able to secure most of these oysters. we’ve been promising we’ll have oysters,” he said.
“there are oysters for the festival that are coming out of the water, but the guys that are getting oysters, they’re working hard, because they’re handling so much material to get a fraction of what they’re used to getting. because they’re pulling up all the dead oysters.”
the tyne valley oyster festival parade. despite the high oyster mortality rates, chairperson richard robinson anticipates the festival will be able to go with plenty of oysters to go around.
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this year’s festival is set for july 31 to aug. 2, with the canadian oyster shucking championships, a fan-favourite event, set for saturday, aug. 1.
even in light of the oyster mortalities, people are still gearing up, with saturday night already sold out as of mid-may. robinson guesses there will be around 1,000 attendees on both friday and saturday night.
troubling times
rural municipality of tyne valley mayor jeff noye organized the festival for fifteen years, and while he has since stepped down, he still runs its annual shucking competition.
he also owns and operates valley pearl oysters, and as such, the msx situation hits close to him.
“there’s a lot of dead oysters. it’s pretty bad, pretty dire straits, really,” he said, noting the impact it’s had on his business.
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“lost a lot. and every business, everybody who’s in the oyster world in p.e.i., they’ve lost pretty much everything. pretty sad.”
the oyster festival, said noye, has historically functioned as a celebration of oysters, of the community and their pride in having what noye says are “the best oysters in the world.”
“i feel this year is gonna be a completely different feeling,” he said.
tyne valley mayor jeff noye addresses the crowd at the tyne valley oyster festival.
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while he’s hopeful that there’ll still be oysters on hand for attendees to enjoy — but acknowledges that a lot can change before then — he imagines the industry’s troubles will put a dent in the ambiance.
“you can go to other festivals in p.e.i., other shellfish festivals, oyster festivals, whatever, and it’s predominantly tourists who’ll be there, and that’s not the case in tyne valley,” said noye.
“the majority of the crowd (in tyne valley) make their living working in oysters.”
with the high oyster mortality rate, noye added that many in the community are focused less on the festival and more on their livelihoods.
“the festival’s the last on their mind. trying to put food on the table might be a little more important,” he said. “especially people who work in the industry, and that’s a lot of our community.”
oyster shucking champion eamon clark, left, sprays champagne as part of the tradition for the competition winner. mayor jeff noye, right, runs the championship.
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community support
to highlight some of those struggles, robinson plans to use the festival as a chance to support the industry and their suppliers; proceeds from the 50/50 draw will go toward the fisher assistance program — a mental health support service for p.e.i. fisherman’s association and p.e.i. shellfish association members.
“as a festival, we’re overly concerned for our fishermen and processors that have supported us for many years now, right?” said robinson. “we want to be a voice for them and speak about some of the challenges that they have.”
despite the industry’s tumultuous times and the period of uncertainty, robinson is glad to be able to put on the festival, from its parade to the suppers and the oyster shucking championship.
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“the community comes together. it’s a festival, right?” said robinson. “we’re gonna celebrate our oysters. we’ve got challenges, and we’ll get through it.”
kristin gardiner is a reporter for the journal pioneer in prince edward island. she can be reached at kgardiner@postmedia.com.
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