This story by Jenn Greene is provided by The Nature Conservancy. opens in a new tab
I’ve been in a love affair with oysters for nearly 20 years.
I get a little giddy when I see people enjoying our locally farmed, boutique oysters in my adopted hometown of Mobile, Alabama. I find myself wanting to inspect the shape of their little bodies and perfection in the shape of their shell. I get the same feeling when I see crusty clumps of thriving oysters attached to reefs and pilings along our Gulf bays and estuaries. I’ve worked to restore shellfish for nearly 20 years, and I feel as much love and affection for these little bivalves today as I did when I started.
About my love affair: On my first research trip out to an oyster reef to check on the progress of a restoration project, I realized how amazing the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) really is. Oysters are one of the unsung heroes of the marine world. A healthy adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day, hungrily gobbling up microscopic algae and removing dirt and other pollutants from the water. These hard working shellfish not only help improve the water quality and ecosystem health of our bays and estuaries, but the tens of thousands of oyster shells that make the foundation of oyster reefs also form natural barriers that can help reduce storm waves and mitigate the effects of sea-level rise. They also act as habitat for juvenile commercial fish, forage fish and other marine life like blue crab, shrimp and rockfish. In other words, these mollusks are a marine biologist’s dream come true.
Sadly, a staggering 85 percent of the Earth’s oyster reefs opens in a new tab have been lost since the late 1800s. Overharvesting, pollution, disease, drought and degraded habitat are some of the threats that have made oyster reefs the single most imperiled marine habitat on the planet. Across North America, The Nature Conservancy has worked to revive oyster reefs through science-based restoration at more than 80 sites opens in a new tab, including San Francisco Bay, Washington’s Puget Sound, Chesapeake Bay, New York Harbor and along much of the Gulf of Mexico.
The Conservancy has been working with partners since 2009 to strengthen our investment opens in a new tab in shellfish restoration. We are often asked, “How many oysters is enough?” We typically respond, “What do you want your oysters to do?” To answer this question, we are focusing on the ecosystem services that oyster reefs provide — from protection against damaging waves and storms, to improving water quality and clarity and enhancing habitat for marine wildlife.In December 2015, Conservancy Research Fellow Dr. Philine zu Ermgassen published a paper in the Journal of Applied Ecology opens in a new tab demonstrating that the addition of oyster reefs in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mid- and South Atlantic substantially boosted the numbers of important fish and crustacean species, including blue crab, stone crab, sheepshead and toadfish. The study estimates that each acre of oyster reef restored will provide an average of 3,544 extra pounds of fish per year. That’s the amount of fish and shellfish that more than 240 U.S. adults would consume in one year. This data will help us set goals for restoration monitoring programs and help us communicate the value of restoring and conserving coastal habitats to coastal communities.
So I plan to continue my love affair with these miraculous, hardworking little bivalves. They are, after all, working for the greater good of our oceans and coasts. If you want to learn more about our work with oysters and restoration, discover more stories and videos opens in a new tab.
Jenn Greene lives in Mobile, Alabama, and has served as a marine scientist for The Nature Conservancy since 2008. She is currently the strategy lead for Integrated Ocean and Coastal Management Conservancy’s North America Oceans and Coasts Program. Prior to working for the Conservancy, she managed a research program that included a focus on restoration science at the University of New Hampshire for nearly 10 years. Jenn holds a Master’s of Science in Zoology from the University of New Hampshire.
