Oysters are soft-bodied animals that have two hard, protective shells (a bivalve). They spend their entire lives in one underwater location. The shape of the oyster's shells varies, depending mostly upon how crowded they are in the oyster bed.

Anatomy: The two hard, rough-textured shells are attached by a muscular hinge (the adductor muscles) at the narrow end. The shell is generated by the mantle, a thin layer of tissue separating the shell from the soft body. When an oyster is threatened, it closes its shells, using the very strong adductor muscle. Oysters draw in water through their gills, and extract oxygen and filter out floating algae (which they use for food). An oyster changes its sex during its life; it starts out as a male and often ends as a female. The largest oysters are up to 3 feet (1 m) long, but most are a few inches long.

Pearls: Pearls are sometimes found in oysters. When a grain of sand (or other irritating substance) gets stuck between the oyster's mantle and shell, the oyster secrets nacre. This shiny substance coats the grain of sand, and over the years, forms a lustrous pearl.

Predators of the Oyster: Many animals eat oysters, including whelks, sea stars, and people.

The "R" Myth
Folklore says that oysters should be eaten only in months with "r's" in them—September, October, etc. Oysters can be eaten 12 months a year. The notion that oysters should not be eaten in "r"-less months—that is, months that occur during warm weather—may have started in the days when oysters where shipped without adequate refrigeration and could spoil. But today all that has changed and we can enjoy oysters twelve months a year. Another reason this myth is around is that oysters spawn when the water gets warm. When this happens the oyster meat is less firm, although it is perfectly safe to eat. East End Oysters are grown in deep water so the water rarely gets to the spawning temperature ensuring us a high quality product.

Oysters and Their Nutritional Value
Oysters are not only delicious, but they're also one of the most nutritionally well balanced of foods, containing protein, carbohydrates and lipids. The National Heart and Lung Institute suggest oysters as an ideal food for inclusion in low-cholesterol diets. Oysters are an excellent source of vitamins A, B1(thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), C (ascorbic acid) and D (calciferol). Four or five medium size oysters supply the recommended daily allowance of iron, copper, iodine, magnesium, calcium, zinc, manganese and phosphorus.

Oysters male and female
There is no way of telling male oysters from females by examining their shells. While oysters have separate sexes, they may change sex one or more times during their life span.

How Oysters Breathe? clean water
Oysters breathe much like fish, using both gills and mantle. They extract oxygen from the water and expel carbon dioxide. Each oyster filters up to 50 gallons of water every day.