Oyster restoration as a climate adaptation is taking seed globally, from China to Australia. In the U.S, New York and Louisiana are two places where oysters have been deeply woven into the culture and economy for centuries, but now these communities are looking to these vital creatures to help protect their vulnerable coastlines.
New York and its Billion Oyster idea
New York City was once the oyster capital of the world; the bivalves were so abundant in the 19th century they were sold from street carts, like hot dogs and halal food are today. After a century of over harvesting and pollution, the city’s oysters reefs—once numbering 220,000—nearly disappeared entirely from New York Harbor, one of the world’s largest natural harbors.
Now, the city’s Billion Oyster Project is reintroducing 100 million oysters per year in the harbor, and with the help of students, volunteers, and local communities, the non-profit plans to restore one billion oysters by 2035.
An adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day; one billion can filter the entire harbor in three days. Oysters also sequester carbon in a way that’s cost-effective and energy efficient, helping fight the climate change contributing to these destructive floods.
The city’s bivalves are also being used in another coastal resiliency project, Living Breakwaters, to shore up the disappearing coastline of Staten Island. In partnership with Billion Oyster Project, the project is building half-mile-long partially submerged breakwaters, strategically covered in recycled oyster reefs that will mitigate flooding and erosion while providing new habitat for hundreds of marine species.
