Seafood in August

Is it %26quot;Off season%26quot;?

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I%26#39;ve been to France in every month of the year, and have enjoyed seafood every month of the year. Never found an %26#39;off season%26#39;. If the peak season month of August was %26#39;off%26#39; then restaurants in all the holiday resorts would be broke.

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What do the locals think?

Is the rule that seafood should not be eaten May - August (when there is no %26quot;R%26quot; in the month) simply an Anglo Saxon myth? This is the spawning period and some websites suggest that quality is poor. There is no suggestion that they are toxic.

It may simply be a way of preserving stock during the spawning period but I suppose that is irrelevant if most restaurants use farmed seafood.

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I%26#39;ve asked about the no %26#39;r%26#39; rule (May - Aug) in France, Italy, and Spain - total puzzlement would sum up the response. I believe in Britain it was because we%26#39;re not used to the summer heat and the shellfish were prone to deteriorate quickly when transported and displayed.

Yes, the oysters %26amp; mussels are normally farmed, you can see the mesh cases and platforms with ropes in many places. Don%26#39;t know about spawning having an effect, but the different quality and varieties of producing areas and the size is certainly noticable all year.

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As for French mussels and oysters, they are virtually all grown in conditions which no longer disrupt consumption.

There is no %26quot;off season%26quot;.

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