Basic Profile

Origin
Cortes Island, Discovery Islands, British Columbia, Canada
Species
Crassostrea gigas (Pacific oyster)
Classification
Farmed; sold under the island's name and farm names
Farming Method
Farmed on provincial shellfish tenures around the island, including Squirrel Cove
Producer
Small independent growers and Klahoose Shellfish (Klahoose First Nation)
Visual Signature
Pacific oyster shell

Cortes Island lies in the Discovery Islands, between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland at the northern end of the Strait of Georgia, with Desolation Sound to its east. It is about 25 km long and had just over a thousand permanent residents at the 2016 census.1 The island has its own coastal plan for shellfish aquaculture.1

Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island, where the photographer found people harvesting oysters on the beach
Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island, where the photographer found people harvesting oysters on the beach. Photo: A.Davey / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Klahoose Shellfish

One of the island's growers is the Klahoose First Nation, whose office is on Cortes.1 Its company, Klahoose Shellfish, was incorporated in 2007 and farms the waters around Squirrel Cove. It holds 10 aquaculture tenures covering 112 hectares and grows Pacific oysters alongside Manila clams, geoducks, scallops and kelp.2

Squirrel Cove has long been Klahoose ground. The nation used it for fishing and gathering plants, and later moved its village there from Toba Inlet, its traditional winter home.3

Flavor Breakdown

The water
The northern Strait of Georgia around the Discovery Islands, cold for most of the year.
When
Fullest in the cold months, thinner after summer spawning, as with other British Columbia Pacifics. Summer heat is the risk on this coast; see the 2021 heat dome and why oysters have seasons.

What Makes Cortes Island Unique

On Cortes, one of the growers is the Klahoose First Nation, farming 112 hectares of tenures around Squirrel Cove, ground the nation has fished and gathered on for generations and where it moved its village from Toba Inlet.23 An island of about a thousand people also wrote its own coastal plan for shellfish farming.1

A small island's oysters, some grown by the First Nation whose home water this is. Look for them in the cold months, on the island or in the Discovery Islands.

Should You Add Lemon?

Cautiously

Try one plain first.

Pairing Guide

1
BC Pinot Gris or sparkling wine

Local and crisp.

2
Chablis

Mineral acid for a cold-water oyster.

OptimalPlain or mignonette
AcceptableLemon
AvoidHeavy cocktail sauce

Who Is This For?

Will love it
  • Visitors to the Discovery Islands and Desolation Sound
  • Anyone who wants to support Indigenous-run shellfish farms
Sources
  1. "Cortes Island." en.wikipedia.org
  2. Qathen Xwegus Management Corporation. "Klahoose Aquaculture." qxmc.org
  3. "Klahoose." en.wikipedia.org
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