Volunteers led by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation are spending their downtime oyster gardening to boost the species' numbers, which is important since the tiny but mighty creatures help to improve water quality and reduce the impacts of global heating.
According to Phys.org, which shared the story reported by AFP News, volunteers living near the bay have been raising mollusks in cages attached to docks at their homes. Once the oysters are grown, they're placed in the bay to begin their work in saving the planet.
Kimberly Price, one of the oyster gardeners helping to repopulate the species, told AFP that she raises thousands of baby oysters at her Maryland home, keeping them in cages for around nine months until they have matured.
The oysters are cultivated on larger shells because they provide a suitable habitat for oyster larvae to attach and grow. This also promotes reef formation, which is crucial for the oysters' life cycle and the health of the surrounding ecosystem.
Price gets many of the shells from local restaurants that recycle them for oyster gardeners. After allowing the babies to bond to the shells, she puts them in mesh cages marked with signs that read "Not for sale or human consumption."
Price's work also includes washing out the cages every two weeks to remove other sea creatures that could divert valuable resources from the oysters.
When the oysters are grown, the volunteers put them in the Chesapeake Bay on sanctuary reefs, where the mollusks are well-protected by fishing bans. Then, they can utilize their natural talents to clean the water for both humans and the planet.
Since they're filter feeders, they draw water into their bodies to extract food and expel the waste as a byproduct. This process helps to purify the water and reduce harmful pollutants and excess nutrients.
AFP reported that adult oysters are capable of processing up to 50 gallons of water each day. With nearly seven billion oysters planted so far, according to CBF oyster expert Kellie Fiala, the bay will be much cleaner, healthier, and better able to support biodiversity.
As a bonus, the tiny superheroes can help combat the changing climate by absorbing and sequestering carbon dioxide, one of the primary gases responsible for rising temperatures. They extract carbon ions to build their shells, effectively removing carbon from the water and atmosphere.
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Absolutely 👍 Native oyster populations have declined to approximately 1% of their historic levels due to pollution, disease, and overharvesting; however, with zealous volunteer efforts, they have a good chance of making a comeback. By the end of this year, CBF and its partners hope to reach their target of populating the bay with 10 billion new oysters.
While it's a lofty goal, volunteers are increasing the chances of success by creating "reef balls" — concrete blocks that can act as artificial habitats — since many shells the oysters depend on for survival have been used by residents for house projects.
Recently, CBF interns filled the bay with 75,000 oysters that had been raised for nearly a year before being returned to their natural habitat. Fiala noted that the oyster population is "trending in a positive direction," though the team has a lot of work ahead to restore their numbers and help the bay thrive.
"Thinking about how many oysters used to be in the bay, we still have a ways to go," Fiala said, adding that by "working together, we can get there."
The oyster gardening initiative demonstrates the power of communities coming together for a shared goal, particularly one that benefits the environment. Oysters have a much bigger purpose than being a tasty dish on restaurant menus, and by restoring their populations, our oceans can return to their former glory.
"We humans destroy everything, right? So this is like, let's fix our problems: how do we try and correct this?" Price told AFP.
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