But most oystermen are now farmers rather than hunter-gatherers - they cultivate individual oysters from seed.

This covered new filters, and the cost of modifying 30-foot tanks once used to cultivate oysters.

Local bay men, he said, have not been willing to engage in the time-consuming process of cultivating oysters, which involves moving them from seedbeds along the estuary out to the open waters to mature.

The group grew to over 100 volunteers actively cultivating oysters, and in November 2009, Dr. Vincent Encomio, Research Scientist at Florida Oceanographic, and a team of volunteers began the Oyster Shell Recycling Program.

The Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe operates a shellfish hatchery on Menemsha Pond, cultivating oysters.

Whenever Mr. LeCoze is in Brittany he visits his friend Gilles Guillevic, who cultivates and harvests oysters, crabs and other shellfish, and used to supply Le Bernardin in Paris.

Instead of using the North Island method of cultivating oysters on racks, Marlborough farmers used hanging longlines, a system developed in Australia.

Annua is set right on the sea, at the mouth of the San Vicente estuary, where the mix of fresh and salt water creates a rich ecosystem that is ideal for cultivating oysters, which of course feature on the menu.

Members of the association individually own cultivation rights to about 2,500 acres in the Peconics, she said, and are engaged in cultivating clams, oysters and scallops.