For its production process, “Sol Azul” selected the French “above ground oyster growing system” since it produces the best high-quality individual oysters for choice markets.  This system protects oysters from three major loss factors: wash-outs caused by currents or storms, attack by natural predators, and sinking into the marine sub-soil.  Oysters are contained in Redlon (inert polyethylene) netbags placed over iron rod racks enhancing growth due to the increased plankton (feed) availability nearer the water surface.  Exposure to sunlight and dry air for a few hours every low-tide, prevents overgrowth of other organisms over the shell of the oyster and on the surface of the netbags, keeping oysters clean at all times.  Tidal currents also contribute to cleansing of the growing area by washing away undesirable detritus and sediments.

Being commercially successful and due to its advantages, this system has been used in Europe for decades where over 20 million growing net bags have been used since 1970, producing more than 130,000 tonnes per year.   However, adoption of this system has required its careful adaptation to the specific climatic, oceanographical, and tidal conditions that prevail in the western shores of Baja California.  Social and infrastructural considerations were also vital in selecting the two sites where the project was finally located due to the remoteness of the Peninsula.   The cultivation process begins with hatchery-produced oyster seeds. These develop individually and are nursed in suspended culture trays.   They are then stocked in Netlon oyster bags laid on rebar racks placed on the ground in the intertidal zone.     Oysters are cultured individually, filter-feeding on the rich phytoplankton of the water column and never ingesting bottom muds.   Our growing grounds are continuously cleansed by the tidal currents and water exchanges in the intertidal zone, as well as by their exposure to direct sun light and air during ebbs.   This culture technology, also used in France and in North America, allows the harvest of prime quality oysters, homogeneous in size, texture, appearance and flavor as demande by connoisseurs.