Baja California Sur ranks first in the country in oyster production through aquaculture and third in fishing. But despite sustainable efforts, this mollusk rarely appears on supermarket shelves.
The explanation is not in the lack of production, but in the way in which the market works. The consumption of this mollusk in Mexico is done in restaurants, cocktail bars and direct sales in cultivation centers, while retailers demand standards that do not always respond to the reality of local farms.
Certifications have become a key element in giving consumer confidence and ordering the value chain. These certificates make it possible to prove that the product is safe for human consumption and that it complies with the health standards in force in the country.
There are seals issued by the Ministry of Health through the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks or at the state level by the Aquaculture Health Committee of the State of Baja California Sur, which guarantee safety, traceability and good practices in oyster cultivation.
In addition, there are international programs such as Aquaculture Improved Program (AIP) or Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) that fall within the purchasing policies of supermarkets and are often beyond the reach of medium-sized projects.
The question then is not only if oyster is certified, but where and how it is consumed. In Mexico, the preference is for fresh and live products, which complicates their distribution in self-service chains that prioritize frozen or processed foods, says Alan Espinoza, director of Bendito Mar, a South California corporate of sustainable oyster.
Espinoza spoke with Causa Natura Media about the importance of certifications, the reality of consumption in Mexico and the shared responsibility between producers, restaurants and customers to ensure a more informed market.
This interview has been edited for synthesis and better reading.
— How difficult has it been to market oysters in supermarkets?
We have approached Chedraui Selecto to commercialize oysters.
We are very focused on marketing live products, live oysters, and to achieve that they have to have a rapid turnover.
Here in La Paz there is no fish tank to keep them alive until consumption, in San José del Cabo there is one. To keep a fish tank in these heats you have to have a chiller, which is an expensive seawater cooler.
The oyster is worth between 200 and 180 pesos a dozen. Maintaining the cost of the fish tank would be passed on to the consumer, so it is necessary to educate the consumer first.
So I think that's where that channel (supermarkets) hasn't been opened yet. We, right now, have not found an ally who can invest in fish tanks and in the subject of training.
And the other is the issue of freezing, we are not yet on that channel, because we don't have the machinery. We're not going to freeze in a freezer or a freezer, because I think we'd ruin everything.
— Frozen bivalve mollusks with technology. Why isn't there this technique in Mexico?
There is a very large market in the United States, in which it is called Half Shell, which is half the shell, the oyster removes the top lid and in the box you freeze it in IQF, it is a freeze in 15 seconds, so the oysters literally remain frozen in their shell and are packaged in very nice trays. Here in Baja California Sur there are no plants with this technology and that is not the market we are targeting today.
It is difficult to describe the difference between a frozen product and a live one, we would have to try it to understand that part, in Mexico oyster culture is beginning, so there is still a stigma that oyster is going to harm you, that it is dirty, so if you still add the factor that it is frozen, that uncertainty grows.
We convey that the oyster comes fresh, unopened, I open it for you on the spot and you can enjoy it and you are sure that you will notice its properties and flavors.
— Do you think that the local oyster market can be supplied with aquaculture or certified products?
Yes. Definitely yes, no problem. It's not that oyster farming in particular will replace all fishing activities, they are an alternative. For aquaculture to replace all fishing would be a utopia.
But I believe that a percentage of what is fished can be replaced by aquaculture to remedy illegality. There are even species that no longer exist in the sea and you can cultivate them. So, aquaculture is an alternative for these problems that we have. And here in Baja California Sur specifically, which is a state that focuses on tourism and the extraction of fishing resources, it is being a very successful alternative for anglers.
— How favorable is it to encourage a culture of fish and seafood certification?
Yes. I think that in short, having a certification makes you better. And it makes your project better because it makes your processes better. We have certifications at the water body level, at the product level, at the process level. I'm not telling you that things are perfect, but when something goes wrong, you have the ability to identify where the problem was.
Right now we are in the certification process with a focus on sustainability and social because I can say that I am sustainable, but who can guarantee it for me? So we are in a certification house called B Corp and they focus a lot on the issue of workers, on the social issue and on the issue of environmental context. We already have eight months in that process.
— Do certifications guarantee product quality?
I think it's an excellent filter and way to have quality products, so that the supermarket gives the consumer certainty that what they are selling is of legal, sustainable origin, and the organic theme or the healthy theme is also essential. So I think it's a very good point that they are certified or that they invite us to become certified.
The certifications are, for example, the Best Aquaculture Practice or in fisheries it is MSC, Marine Stewardship Council and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), in the aquaculture part. More or less one of these certifications costs 40 thousand to 50 thousand dollars a year. In addition to all the investments you have to make to get certified.
At the oyster farm level it is extremely expensive. So, in Mexico, it seems to me that only one has it, which is the company Sol Azul, a very large oyster farm.
They have this certification and control around 70 or 80% of the volume of oyster production in Mexico, imagine how big it is, they do have the capacity to pay for that certification.
— What options does Bendito Mar have?
We are far from it, but there are options such as the FIP, which is a fishery improvement program prior to certification, it is not that expensive, but, strangely enough, in Mexico still no one has it in the aquaculture part, for oysters.
In the United States and Europe, there are aquaculture fishing improvement programs for oysters, and that program would be perfect for future access to an ASC. I believe that an FIP does not guarantee you better prices or income, but rather you enter more competitive markets.
— Who are your main buyers?
We focus on restaurants and retailers. Here in the state we sell in La Paz, Todos Santos, Pescadero and San José del Cabo, mainly with hotels and restaurants. Nationwide, we distribute 40% in restaurants in Oaxaca, Monterrey and Cancun, and the rest we sell to retailers, who in turn are responsible for distributing them to other restaurants.
We don't work with supermarkets, we believe that there is still no supermarket specialized in fresh live seafood, because oysters have a shelf life of 4 or 6 days, so if oysters don't rotate during that time they become waste. What I have seen in Chedraui Selecto is that they have oysters, but frozen, as well as clams and other types of bivalve mollusks, and we don't like to sell our frozen product, it has to be alive.
— What environmental contributions does oyster farming have?
The oyster brings environmental benefits, in addition to economic and social benefits, for example it is a water filter. It is very important to clarify, so as not to fall into misinterpretations, that filtering water raises the question. What happens if an oyster filters water that it shouldn't?
Hence the importance of the fact that your farm must be located and located in a water area and a body certified by the Ministry of Health, through the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks. Another certification is from the body responsible for monitoring the issue of bivalve mollusc health, the Aquaculture Health Committee of the State of Baja California Sur.
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