# Forum Home Renovation General Odds & Sods  Breaking and eating oysters fresh off the rocks- narooma

## DBR

Hi guys, 
Albeit nothing to do with renovation but I guess a toxicological question (mind you, this site has been great for those questions).. but.... 
I'm in Narooma south coast at moment and yesterday the brother in law thought it would be a good idea to go down to the rocks and break a few oysters with a chisel and hammer... 
All tasted good (only had a dozen small ones) and we only got ones that had plenty of water washing over them from the surf (ie got them off the rocks beside the beach- not lake or estuary... ....   
since then no illness, issues etc.. 
But... wife reckons we are mad and it's risky practice healthwise.. interested in your thoughts? Would like to go back again tomorrow before we go home.. 
Cheers

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## Bros

You only have trouble with oysters when there is a lot of rainfall and the rivers/creeks run and carry turds of all sorts into the ocean and then the oysters end up with a gut full. I have eaten plenty of oysters off rocks from tidal streams and ocean and I have never been sick but after a flood no way for 3 months. 
I find oysters tainted, a dozen taint enough.

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## DBR

> You only have trouble with oysters when there is a lot of rainfall and the rivers/creeks run and carry turds of all sorts into the ocean and then the oysters end up with a gut full. I have eaten plenty of oysters off rocks from tidal streams and ocean and I have never been sick but after a flood no way for 3 months. 
> I find oysters tainted, a dozen taint enough.

  Cheers , thanks..  it did actually rain during the night before we had the oysters .. ha. Nonetheless we didn't get sick so I guess that makes us lucky?? (Maybe it's because we were sourcing them from beach rocks not directly at entry to river etc....).. I take it dirt and sewerage is the issue with eating them afte rain??

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## Bros

> sewerage is the issue with eating them after rain??

   Sure is.

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## DBR

> Sure is.

  
Gross. Well we didn't get sick (thank god!!) and I learnt my lesson..  I figure it's heavy downpour for 2 or more days that's the biggest risk (rained only sposmatically during the night before) ..  
Surely one days rain can't destroy a whole crop? Or is it a case of waiting a few days?  
Nonetheless, we will give it 2-3 more days before we collect anymore, do you think they'll be right by then? I suppose hard to say..   I'm guessing because we are collecting from the beach rocks in a low population area- Narooma (2500)  renouned for its oysters )  that risk would be much less than other densely populated areas.. - perhaps that's why we got off without getting sick yesterday.

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## Bros

> Gross. Well we didn't get sick (thank god!!) and I learnt my lesson..  I figure it's heavy downpour for 2 or more days that's the biggest risk (rained only sposmatically during the night before) ..  
> Surely one days rain can't destroy a whole crop? Or is it a case of waiting a few days?  
> Nonetheless, we will give it 2-3 more days before we collect anymore, do you think they'll be right by then? I suppose hard to say..   I'm guessing because we are collecting from the beach rocks in a low population area- Narooma (2500)  renouned for its oysters )  that risk would be much less than other densely populated areas.. - perhaps that's why we got off without getting sick yesterday.

   I don't know anything about the Narooma area but from to time I hear of problems with oysters in farms in the Hawksbury area and it always is caused by flooding.

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## commodorenut

If it's open ocean constantly washing over them, I'd have no worries at all. 
It's the ones near lakes/estuaries that are fed from freshwater creeks/rivers that are the problem - rain can wash fertilisers & soil contaminants (cow dung etc) into rivers and the like, which eventually run downstream.  In populated areas further upstream, sewage can be an issue, especially places that aren't on town sewer. 
When this contaminated water flows slowly past them, or back & forth for some time before being diluted & running out to sea - that's when you have the issues.
This is why it is more prevalent in river regions, and calm lakes (like the Wallis lake issue some years back). 
Fast moving salt water - ocean waves etc, doesn't carry it long enough to be an issue, so if they were exposed to that, then you'll be fine.

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## PlatypusGardens

So you hack a lump of snot off a rock, eat it raw (and alive) and then worry about what it may have eaten? 
Gold.

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## ringtail

I won't eat them or any other filter feeder purely for that fact PG. They feed on whatever is in the water without choice. Snot of the sea.

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## PlatypusGardens

I don't mind them cooked but can usually think of something better to eat. 
Like mudcrab  :Smilie:

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## DBR

> So you hack a lump of snot off a rock, eat it raw (and alive) and then worry about what it may have eaten? 
> Gold.

  Ha, well I guess you could look at it that way..  are you implying that what I did is unsafe?  
I suppose ringtail that they are filter feeders but I've never looked into it enough to think about pollution etc...  its not until now (yes after the fact) that I'm thinking about it a bit...     I would like to think that commodornut is right and regardless, the fact that here we are two days later and we're not sick indicates that we got off without future issues from this one?

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## Uncle Bob

I reckon you would be fairly safe as Narooma hasn't had a big flooding event for like 6 months (my caravan annex had nearly 6 inches of water through it :/ )

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## PlatypusGardens

> Ha, well I guess you could look at it that way..  are you implying that what I did is unsafe?

  I'm implying that it's pretty gross to eat a lump of raw ocean mollusk  
I also don't see the point of it as they don't taste much of anything and all you do is swallow them whole..
...and raw
...and alive
...and eeew   :Rofl5:     

> I suppose ringtail that they are filter feeders but I've never looked into it enough to think about pollution etc...  its not until now (yes after the fact) that I'm thinking about it a bit...     I would like to think that commodornut is right and regardless, the fact that here we are two days later and we're not sick indicates that we got off without future issues from this one?

  Well at least it's taken your mind off asbestos, sump oil and lead based paint for a while.

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## PlatypusGardens

I found this on the internet, so it must be true:        *Raw Oyster Myths*     Raw oysters contaminated with _Vibrio vulnificus_ can be life threatening, even fatal when eaten by someone with liver disease, diabetes or a weakened immune system. 
However, there are myths that encourage people to eat raw oysters in spite of these dangers. Some of these myths, and the true facts behind them, include:   *MYTH:* _Eating raw oysters are safe if you drown them in hot sauce, which kills everything._ *
Fact:* The active ingredients in hot sauce have no more effect on harmful bacteria than plain water. Nothing but prolonged exposure to heat at a high enough temperature will kill bacteria. *  
MYTH:*_Avoid oysters from polluted waters and you'll be fine._ *
Fact:* _Vibrio vulnificus_ in oysters has nothing to do with pollution. Rather these bacteria thrive naturally in warm coastal areas (such as the Gulf of Mexico) where oysters live. *  
MYTH:* _An experienced oyster lover can tell a good oyster from a bad one._ *
Fact:* _Vibrio vulnificus_ can't be seen, smelled, or even tasted. Don't rely on your senses to determine if an oyster is safe. *  
MYTH:* _Alcohol kills harmful bacteria._ *
Fact:* Alcohol may impair your good judgment, but it doesn't destroy harmful bacteria. *  
MYTH:* _Just a few oysters can't hurt you._ *
Fact:* Roberta Hammond, Ph.D, the Food and Waterborne Disease Coordinator for Florida, cites a case where a fatality caused by _Vibrio vulnificus_ occurred after eating only three oysters. 
The seriousness of any case depends on many factors, including how much bacteria is ingested and the person's underlying health conditions. *  
MYTH:* _Avoid raw oysters in months without the letter "R" and you'll be safe._ *
Fact:* While presence of _Vibrio vulnificus_ bacteria is higher in warmer months, according to the Department of Health and Human Service's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a full 40 percent of cases occur during colder months from September through April. *  
MYTH:* _Raw oysters are an aphrodisiac and will cure a hangover._ *
Fact:* There is no scientific evidence that either of these commonly held beliefs is true.          
Enjoy your ocean snot   :Rofl5:

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## sol381

would never eat them raw.. kilpatrick however.. mmm.. just had about 10 dozen when we were in tassie.

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## ringtail

Chuck em in ya boots to cure foot rot. All they're good for.  :Tongue:

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## Optimus

I reckon you shouldn't worry so much and live your life... 
Just sayin....

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## DBR

> I reckon you shouldn't worry so much and live your life... 
> Just sayin....

  Thanks,   Your right...    in the past three years I've lost four close family members to cancer including parents so this is something that worries me For some reason... 
We are not sick now and Wife says in this case I'm overreacting re worries about future illness so hope she's right..

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## Optimus

> Thanks,   Your right...    in the past three years I've lost four close family members to cancer including parents so this is something that worries me For some reason... 
> We are not sick now and Wife says in this case I'm overreacting re worries about future illness so hope she's right..

  Sorry to hear that.. all the more reason to enjoy life

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## Bros

> We are not sick now and Wife says in this case I'm overreacting re worries about future illness so hope she's right..

  Listen to her as she is right.

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## DBR

Out of curiosity, I checked sewer discharge from treatment plant location and it's about 800-850 meters further north on the beach at kianga. Not sure if that's considered close or far in terms of risk and dilution... nonetheless no one is sick at moment...

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## Bros

Many years ago Luggage point in Brisbane was the best place to fish as you could catch big bream there.

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## mudbrick

Your not going to get sick a week after eating something. 
Most oysters you buy in the shop would be have been out of the water for at least 2 days, been handled 3 or 4 times, shucked, packaged, transported 500ks in 2 or 3 trips, displayed in the window, bought, carried around the shops, driven home in a warm car, then put in the fridge then finally unpacked and eaten a few hours later 
I think cracking them straight off the ocean rocks and eating sounds a lot safer

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## DBR

> Your not going to get sick a week after eating something. 
> Most oysters you buy in the shop would be have been out of the water for at least 2 days, been handled 3 or 4 times, shucked, packaged, transported 500ks in 2 or 3 trips, displayed in the window, bought, carried around the shops, driven home in a warm car, then put in the fridge then finally unpacked and eaten a few hours later�� 
> I think cracking them straight off the ocean rocks and eating sounds a lot safer��

  
Cheers mate and also thanks to everyone who took the time to provide feedback, be it reasurring or for a bit of a laugh at my detriment. Over the last couple of days I have been worried about this.- wife reckons all good and I need to relax-  but yes I feel like a di$k for being so stupid as to eat oysters off the rocks without considering sewage/ stormwater etc... . 
what I was referring to is the fact that I ate them straight off the rocks along a beach at Kianga narooma...   yes they would have been super fresh; however didn't realise at the time that the sewage treatement works dishcharge point was 750-800meters further up the beach ---- therefore I've been worried about the long term implications of this..... ... myself, a friend and one of my kids at them (a dozen each)...   
I went to the doctors today as yes I've been worried particularly for my child.. doc said that the risk surrounding sewage and oysters relates to bacterial stomach illness, norovirus and hepatitis a.-- in plain terms relates to vomiting and diarrea...      ... Therefore he said the fact that it's now over a week since we ate the oysters and haven't become ill (nauseous etc) he reckons we are in the clear and don't have to worry about future illness.. he said that "cancer" has never been an issue in one off food poisoning from contaminated oysters..  
He said and now I partly agree that like anything that causes cancer, it would take more than a one off exposure to a dozen polluted oysters to increase cancer risk.. particularly with no illness following the feed as in our case... 
I also now think that even though we ate oysters within a km from a sewage outlet,, the sewage effluent is treated and would dilute considerably on an open coastline- maybe that's why we didn't get sick...

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## Optimus

At least you got there in the end! 
You really should start wearing  a face mask everytime you step outside.. 
You never know whats in the air!

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## joynz

DBR, I had a chuckle at your comment that you 'partly' agree with the GP! 
Based on you having your own medical degree I imagine and therefore knowing more about the causes of cancer than a doctor! 
You worry unnecessarily more than most people.  Just be careful that your kids don't end up absorbing your anxieties...

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