World is just their oyster
A Galway husband-and-wife team can claim that the world is their oyster after they took one of the top honours at the Irish Food Writers’ Guild’s 2026 Food Awards this month.
Iwona and Gary Harty, from Galway Gourmet Oysters – a family business producing high quality oysters in Mweeloon Bay and Tawin Island around Maree – accepted the award for Contribution to Irish Food, thanks to their revolutionary approach to farming the mollusc.
The awards took place on Tuesday at a ceremony in Dublin, as invited producers, chefs, food writers and industry leaders gathered to celebrate the very best of Irish food.
Gary in particular was honoured for his significant impact in championing Irish oysters and promoting Irish seafood at home and abroad.
And to prove the point, Galway Gourmet Oysters were then served as canapés as guests mingled before the sit-down lunch.
Gary Harty is blazing trails in the world of Irish oyster aquaculture with his introduction of the Flip Farm method, a process which originates from New Zealand.
Using semi-automated floating baskets attached to long lines, this innovative mariculture method reduces the manual labour usually required to turn oyster baskets.
In a nutshell, it improves the health and condition of oysters, and it reduces diseases.
Rather than importing this method quietly and keeping its benefits to himself, he has decided to choose the community route, and Bord Iascaigh Mhara has funded early trials with a view to research the feasibility of extending this new farming method to other areas and oyster farms in Ireland.
Should this project be successful, we can expect increased control over the growth conditions in Irish oyster farms, less demanding physical labour for workers, and a reduced seabed disturbance as the baskets are kept to the surface.
So far, the results of Gary Harty and BIM's trials have been encouraging, in particular around the growth and shape of the oysters under Irish weather and maritime conditions – and with the potential for increased productivity and a controlled, higher quality of oysters, Gary Harty's work is revolutionary.
The Irish Food Writers’ Guild launched its Food Awards in 1993 to recognise excellence, sustainability, community and outstanding contribution across Ireland’s food and drink sector.