Our innovative long-line technique of growing oysters is another factor that gives Umpqua Triangle Oyster’s their clean sweet taste. After cultivating oysters from seed and allowing time for the baby oysters, or spat, to attach themselves to recycled oyster shells, (see Growing Oysters from Seed ), we insert the shells, now carrying from 15-20 young oysters each, at intervals between the cords of a 15- foot length of rope to form long curtains. These oyster curtains, containing nearly two miles of hanging oysters, are suspended in the Triangle, where they bob up and down with the tide over the course of the next 2 to 4 years.

Suspension prevents Umpqua Triangle Oysters from ever coming in contact with the muck at the bottom of the bay. Oysters that are traditionally grown in beds are exposed both to air at low tide and to mucky sediment when submerged. Adult oysters pump seven or more gallons of water through their systems each day, which means bedded oysters are getting lots of sediment in their diet that can give them a very pungent taste. Umpqua Triangle Oyster curtains are continually suspended in clean cool water, producing clean and firm pearlescent oyster meat. Their flavor is consistently outstanding year-round, as well as year after year.

Nothing affects the flavor and color of an oyster more than its habitat. With our unique placement in the Triangle and use of suspended long lines, Umpqua Aquaculture is producing the cleanest and sweetest oysters in the Pacific Northwest.