Veteran oyster opener Victoria Pearsey (43) has moments on the Barnes factory oyster line when she’s away in a dream, visualising a race against the clock as she whips open oysters as fast as she can.

For nine of the last 10 years Victoria has reigned supreme at the Bluff Oyster Festival, and this year she is, again, the ladies’ champion to beat.

Last year, Victoria was not able to defend her 9 consecutive titles because the event was cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

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This year, she will give her delayed bid for 10 consecutive wins another go but is ready to accept whatever the fates might deliver.

“If I am lucky enough to win for the 10th time . . . I have won nine but competed 11 times. I can tell you, the first competition I ever entered was the worst, the most nervous I have ever been in my life. My knees were knocking. It was horrid. Over the years, that has eased. I am now quite comfortable,” she said.

It is easy to see why Victoria has become comfortable opening oysters when you learn she has spent her most of her career in the seafood industry.

Her first job came about two years after leaving high school, when she took a job with the Bluff Oyster Enhancement Company, working on boats to find, check and manage the wild oyster beds in Foveaux Strait.

She also took work processing fish in Sanfords fish factory at Bluff.

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In 1999, she went to Barnes Wild Bluff Oyster Factory in Invercargill.

“Oysters became my life,” she said.

Every year in February, she works for the Oyster Management Company, doing pre-season surveys in the strait, checking for things like the parasitic disease Bonamia Ostrae. She also helps with stock-taking, measuring oysters and “other wee bits and pieces”.

From March to August, Victoria can be found at Barnes. After the oyster season ends, she works as a fish processor at Harbour Fish, where her husband Shane is the manager.

Victoria said it took a while to learn how to open an oyster.

“I did every other job in the factory first. Oyster opening was the only thing I hadn’t done and I was keen to give it a go. I was the first woman at Barnes [to open oysters] so that was a big thing,” she said.

Every oyster opener tends to develop their own unique style, but it was important for novices to listen to advice from seasoned workers, she said.

“My thing was, when someone gives you little tips or suggestions, I would always listen to what they told me and see if it worked for me. But I pretty much learned my own technique,” she said.

Sharp blades. . . champion oyster opener Victoria Pearsey favours a pistol grip on her knife. PHOTO: Leah Russell.

Knives are an oyster opener’s personal treasure.

“I am a bit naughty. I don’t make my own. I get them made for me. But I do look after them. I keep them sharp.”

“They are very personal. We all have our own style of handle. Mine is a pistol grip. Some of them just push right into your palm. Others have big straight handles,” she said.

Hand protection is essential. It doesn’t bear thinking about what might happen without it.

“We all wear a palm guard, a big piece of rubber. Yes, if you slip, potentially . . . touch wood, I’ve never . . .”.

Victoria likes to open oysters by putting her knife into the bottom of the shell. “Some people tend to go in, in different places. For me, it is pretty much how the oyster lands, and how it sits [in the hand],” she said.

At the Bluff Oyster Festival, the time it takes to open 50 oysters, without dropping or cutting the shellfish, is the essence.

In the lead up to the competition Victoria catches herself visualising the competition as she works on the Barnes opening line and tells herself she doesn’t have to rush.

“I don’t know individually how long it takes me to open one oyster. They just go down the chute into the tin. For 25 dozen, lots of 300, I would probably open on an average day, when I am going okay, 300 oysters in probably 23 minutes, give or take . . . I definitely do [think about the competition]. Some days I tell myself “It’s okay. I am just in Bluff.” I think about one movement rather than multiple movements. And I will count my oysters. I find that helps,” she said.

"I love my job. That plays a huge part of it": Victoria Pearsey, champion oyster opener. PHOTO: Leah Russell

Over the years, Victoria has also taught herself not to be so nervous about the competition and just have fun with the other women who are competing.

“We all have a good time. We all get 50 oysters each, they say go, you go. It’s whoever has the fastest time, but there are penalties if you have cut the oyster or miss the tin,” she said.

The judges stand behind the openers, who face the clock. It is not up to the judges to tell the competitors they have missed the tin. Counters will check that once the clock has stopped.

After penalties are written on the board – each penalty adds four seconds to the time – the winner is announced.

Victoria’s best time ever for opening 50 oysters was 2 minutes 46 seconds but she usually aims for just over 3 minutes and is not so concerned, now, that the fastest men might beat her by a minute.

“In all my later years of being in the competition, my goal was also to beat the men. There was one year when I was only four seconds behind, and I was so excited. That was close enough. If I finish on a high and did 10 years and beat the men, oh wow. I would really be reaching for the stars,” she said.

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The pressure to compete again this year was huge, Victoria said.

“I always said I would go for 10 years, go for my 10 [wins]. If I get 10, that’s great, that’s really good, that’s a nice finish. But I said I’m stepping down this year – unless no women enter next time,” she said.

“In the end, for me, being good at what I do is important. I love it. I love my job. That plays a huge part in it.”