Stories

Stories from the water

Field notes, harvest reports and what we are learning as we build Malaysia’s oyster industry.

Harvested oysters graded into piles on the depuration floor before going into the tanks

18 August 2026 3 min read

What depuration actually does, and why we won't sell an oyster without it

Depuration is the least photogenic part of an oyster farm and the most important. Here is what happens in those tanks, and why the timer matters more than the tank.

Read the story

Oyster grow-out lines and floats stretching across shallow coastal water

2 July 2026 3 min read

Reading the water, how sensors cut our harvest shutdowns by a third

The hardest problem in tropical oyster farming is not growing them. It is knowing which days not to harvest. Here is how we stopped guessing.

Read the story

A freshly shucked oyster held open in the palm of a hand

11 June 2026 3 min read

Iredalei and Belcheri, Malaysia's two oysters, and how to tell them apart

We farm both of Malaysia's commercially important native oysters. They look different, taste different and want completely different things from you at the table.

Read the story

Rows of conical flasks of golden microalgae culture under lights in the hatchery

6 May 2026 3 min read

Notes from the hatchery, why an oyster farm starts in a room full of flasks

Visitors expect boats. The first thing we show them is shelves of glowing green flasks, because that is where reliable oysters actually begin.

Read the story

Two Ocean Tide Ventures crew standing chest-deep beside mesh oyster baskets on a line in the Straits of Melaka

14 April 2026 2 min read

Why Melaka is next, and why it is not open yet

We have picked our fourth coastline. It is not producing for sale yet, here is what we are waiting on, and what it will change for buyers on the peninsula.

Read the story

Crates of freshly harvested oysters being lifted from a boat at the jetty

20 March 2026 3 min read

Getting a box of live oysters home without ruining them

Most oysters that disappoint were fine when they left us. Here is how to store, shuck and serve them so you taste what you actually paid for.

Read the story