Pacific oysters, grown in warm waters, reach sexual maturation during their second summer of life, causing them to become soft and a milky color. These characteristics make the oysters unmarketable. In Alaska, because cold water retards maturation, high-quality oysters are available year round. Because they cannot reproduce, wild or naturally occurring, oysters are very uncommon in Alaska. All farmed Alaskan oysters are imported as spat (juvenile oysters) from Pacific Coast hatcheries.