Local Flavor   



Humboldt County's first residents hailed from the Yurok, Karuk, Wiyot, Chilula, Whilkut and Hupa tribes, among others. They settled on the coast and along the banks of the Trinity and Klamath rivers. The county was created in May 1853 and derives its name from Humboldt Bay, which was "discovered" by a sea otter hunting party in 1806 and rediscovered in 1849. Douglas Ottinger and Hans Buhne entered the bay in 1850 and named it in honor of naturalist and explorer Baron Alexander von Humboldt.

Del Norte County has been home to the Yurok and Tolowa peoples for thousands of years. Legendary explorer Jedediah Smith is credited with being the first non-native to enter the region, in 1828. Gold strikes on the Klamath and Smith Rivers in the 1850s led to the settlement of the county, which was created in March 1857. Its name, meaning "the north" is derived from its position in the northwest corner of the state.
Oysters on the bay - a pearl of a business
  When it comes to shellfish, Humboldt Bay leads the way.
  Home of innovative techniques, special growing conditions and industry-changing environmental protections, California’s third-largest estuary is prime for its delectable oysters, clams and mussels.
  It hasn’t always been so. In fact, the main grower of oysters on the bay, Coast Seafoods, has radically changed their operation in cooperation with fishermen and regulators, and may become the gold standard for the West Coast industry.
  At the same time, longtime shellfish grower Ted Kuiper is working to build a new facility that could be used by the handful of smaller growers in the area. Kuiper Mariculture has earned a special disease-free certification from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a designation that would allow the other growers to ship shellfish to Europe.
  About three-quarters of the fresh oysters consumed by Californians are grown in Humboldt Bay. They are the centerpiece of the annual Arcata Bay Oyster Festival, which draws thousands to eat thousands of oysters — an estimated 120,000 per festival, actually.
  The thriving shellfish industry seems to be a good fit for the bay, encouraging communities to keep its water clean. As filter feeders, oysters themselves help clean the water, a benefit to many species of fish and plants.
  Like much of the industry still does, Coast Seafoods used to grow oysters on the bay bottom. They had to harvest them hydraulically, kill bat rays that ate oysters, and they “paved” the bay floor with spent shells.
  A decade after fishermen voiced concern about the damage to eel grass — a key intertidal plant — and other fish and crustaceans, Coast now does things very differently. Scientists, agencies, fishermen and environmentalists worked together over years, and Coast’s newest permit is a sea change from its old methods.
  Coast now grows its oysters suspended on lines or in bags on racks off the bay floor. It’s proven better for eel grass, better for bat rays and better for oysters, too.
  The proof may be in the pudding. Last month, a Coast Seafood Kumamoto oyster — prized by gourmets — won the most beautiful oyster of its kind for the United States.