Blackwater Oysters manages oysters in the creeks around the beautiful Mersea Island and Tollesbury, which are famed for their excellent quality and flavour. We run a privately owned depuration (filtration and purification) plant in Tollesbury, from where the oysters are cleaned, stored and packed for market.
Drawing on 40 years’ experience, Blackwater Oysters is now managing the full end-to-end oyster process to ensure the quality and safety of our oysters.
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If there is an historic capital of Oyster cultivation in the UK, Essex has a very strong claim.
During the Roman occupation of Britain, when Colchester was its capital, Native oysters were cultivated and shipped in large quantities back to Italy and large dumps of oyster shells have been uncovered during archaeological excavations around Colchester.
Colchester’s rights over the River Colne can be traced back to the 11th century and Maldon’s rights to the River Blackwater were conveyed in a charter by Henry II in the 12th century.
The rights to the creeks around West Mersea were bestowed on the town by Edward the Confessor in 1046 and deeds showing private ownership of oyster layings around West Mersea and Tollesbury date back as early as 1664.
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Covid-19 Update
All necessary restrictions, processes and procedures are in place to ensure that our customers are safe. The commercial space is maintained to the highest environmental specification at all times and visitors must follow the latest government guidelines on Covid-19.