Well, it's a baby oyster! An oyster may spawn as either a male or a female, depending upon the salt content and temperature of the water. Eggs, which look like a milky cloud, are normally released on an ebbing tide. An oyster sheds and average of one million eggs, on which small fish feed. The fertilized eggs float 7-18 days before settling, if they are not eaten by a predator first. In spite of its miniscule size, each larva has a tiny shell complete with muscle and a foot. Once its swimming stage is over, the larva extends its foot, settles on any solid object it can find, and cements itself into place. At this stage it is known as an oyster spat. Once they are anchored into place, an oyster spat will grow it's shells.

So the oyster will be honored in October.
The family festival, which is open to the public, will highlight the county's proud seafood industry and beautiful beaches. The Oyster Spat Festival is a great reason to come and enjoy St. George Island at a beautiful time of year that many visitors don't get to see. St. George Island, in the Panhandle of Florida, is exceptionally beautiful and unique in that it is a coastal resort area without high density condos, wall-to-wall people or traffic jams. You arrive at St. George Island via the third longest bridge in Florida.


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