“Been there, shucked that”

World renowned oyster shucker delights the crowds at the B.C. Seafood Festival

For Patrick McMurray aka Shucker Paddy the oyster is his world.

Wild or farmed, East Coast to West Coast of Canada, and to virtually every corner of the world, McMurray has been there, to build on his repertoire as a connoisseur of oysters.

His latest stop was at the B.C. Seafood Festival in the Comox Valley, where he delighted the crowd with his shucking prowess and story-telling.

Shucker Paddy, born Patrick McMurray in Toronto, is an author, inventor, professor, and a World Champion Oyster Shucker.

McMurray started work in an oyster bar at the age of 16. From his first introduction to oysters to today, he has been resolute in his passion for the shellfish industry.

“I believe that to sustain the industry, and to make it the best industry possible, we have to keep the conversation going,” said McMurray, who has been supporting the aquaculture industry to alleviate the stress on wild stocks for the past decade.

The legend of Shucker Paddy was born in an oyster bar where he was working as a teen.

Since then he has three Guinness Book of World Records titles for oyster shucking under his belt;
Team Canada, 8840 Oysters in one hour
Individual, 39 Oysters in one minute
Personal, 1,114 Oysters in one hour

McMurray is known in the Oyster world as an Oyster Sommelier and is a huge proponent of sustainability in aquaculture.

He has been a speaker at the Global Aquaculture Alliance, Seafood Show North America, Scotland’s National Shucking Championship, and has made many appearances at seafood festivals across the globe.

McMurray’s book, The Oyster Companion (2018 – Firefly Books), is an in-depth guide to Oystering, which is filled with oyster-travel stories, instructions, and an incomparable oyster taste wheel.

He has also authored The Art of Oystering, an Oyster 101 program that has been used in Europe and Asia, while promoting the efforts of WWF Canada and OceanWise.

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