The tiny oyster that made Washington

The Pacific Coast’s only indigenous oyster, the Olympia, was eaten into near-extinction. It could be making a comeback.

Tiny compared to other oysters, the Olympia was for decades raked out of Washington's beds by the ton. A local delicacy that once fueled gold diggers in California and loggers in Washington, the Olympia oyster became a major industry, yet was so tiny you could hold it between your fingertips. Invasive Japanese oysters took over its habitat, but the might Olympia might be making a comeback, thanks to interested shellfish farmers.