From the shores of Kerry to the dining tables of Europe, Asia and Russia
Liam Hayes working on his Oyster farm in Cromane Co Kerry. Picture: Domnick Walsh
Oysters produced along the Kerry coastline are in big demand across countries in Europe, Asia and Russia.
And, one local oyster farmer producing the much sought after shellfish says some of the best seafood in the world is being produced in Ireland right now.
Liam and Breda Hayes run an oyster farm in Cromane Co Kerry and a small business called Kerry Premium Oysters.
Using traditional methods of harvesting by hand to ensure top quality produce with a proud tradition of oyster farming spanning 25 years, the family’s Kerry Premium Oysters has been growing and selling high-quality oysters from the pristine waters off Cromane in the south-west of Ireland in the heart of Kerry’s Reeks District.
Liam says it’s the combination of the wild Atlantic ocean and the fresh water from the surrounding rivers that gives his shellfish its unique taste.
“We bring in seed oyster - the waters here are too cold for the reproduction of oysters - so we have to buy seed, which we do from French nurseries,” he added.
“It’s quite small and grows for about three years, and then we sell it into Europe, Asia and Russia.
The Hayes family’s oysters have a premium label attached and as Liam added, “they are of the highest quality that can be produced”.
“They are called spéciale - the French for special - and while there is a worldwide demand for quality oysters, the same cannot be said for the demand in Ireland,” he continued, before adding, “our oysters are to be found in some of the finest restaurants in China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia as well as in French and Holland”.
“In some countries, oysters are treated with such reverence they are offered to a guest instead of alcohol.”
At the moment Liam and the family are in the “height of the selling season” as Christmas approaches but the Chinese New Year will follow and that is a huge market for the Co Kerry oyster farmer.
“We are busy all year round,” added Liam who is also a member of the Taste the Atlantic programme - a seafood initiative that stretches from Donegal to Cork and passes some of Ireland’s most breathtaking seascapes and landmarks in the country.
He is one of 21 seafood producers along the coast and one of just two in Co Kerry.
“There is such fabulous seafood being produced in Ireland but most of it is being exported and I think that Irish people don’t realise this,” he concluded.
