Simply put, they have no beds — oysters that is. Once dominating the western U.S. and Canada coastline, Native Olympia oysters have dwindled in numbers due to modern urbanization. And CSU Long Beach biology professor Dr. Christine Whitcraft aong with CSU Fullerton biology professor Dr. Danielle Zacherl have teamed with KZO Education and OC Coastkeepers to help restore these ecologically essential beds that are created by these filter-feeders.
If you’re wondering why oysters are needed (beyond the fact that they’re delicious with horseradish and lemon) in an environmental sense, look towards the benthic zone — or the lowest level of a body of water. Oysters are a key building block of this area, their beds creating reef-like habitats for everything from barnacles, mussels, algae, and crabs to scallops, octopus, and many kinds of fish, some of whom use oyster beds as a refuge of sorts in their juvenile stages.
“The oysters we restore are not meant for harvest but rather for creating more structured habitat that acts as living space for a whole community of organisms,” stated Zacheri, who initiated the first southern California Olympia oyster restoration project in summer 2010 in Upper Newport Bay.
Watch the series of videos below that showcase and document the restoration.
Day One: Introduction of the Program
Day One: Preparing the Shell for the Bed
Day One: Explaining the Recruitment Process
Day Two: Laying Shells into the Bed