Growing minds, growing oysters, and growing our capacity for what's possible
Let's Rewild the Bay!
I have been involved in native oyster restoration for many years and the environmental movement for many more but lately I have been giving a great deal of thought about how our efforts fit with the framework of Conservation biology, a mission oriented science that focuses on how to protect and restore biodiversity.
“As scientists study the unbalanced and fragmented systems humans create as they alter the environment; they are realizing how interdependent species are. As a result of human population growth, rampant development, and destruction of ecosystems, these forces are acting to reduce the extraordinary diversity of plants and animals to a select, hardy few. This biodiversity loss is arguably the greatest man-made crisis the world has ever known.” Caroline Fraser, Rewilding the World. While conservation traditionally focused on protecting single species, current practitioners often focus on protecting entire ecosystems or even groups of adjacent ecosystems, or landscapes. This trend increases the probability we will protect the large-scale processes (such as nutrient cycling) biodiversity depends on. Natural oyster reefs once dominated estuaries around the world. It is estimated more than 85% of the planet’s native oyster reefs have been extirpated. This is the dilemma that San Francisco Bay faces due to development, pollution, and entire ecosystem destruction. But, with your help, we can change that. We built our cities up to and beyond the water’s edge, eliminating the natural wetlands and substrate that oysters need to thrive. Humans simply have a very heavy footprint. A progressive approach to restoration recognizes nature knows best and our efforts should be focused on 'rewilding' the planet. Give nature some structure, step back, and let the rewilding take place. This cannot take place piecemeal as ecosystems depend on an abundance of factors to thrive. We cannot undo the cities and the highways along our shorelines, but we can provide some substrate for native oysters and then let them do their oyster magic. What we are trying to do at Wild Oyster Project, with the support and encouragement of all of you, is to make a degraded ecosystem whole. We want to increase biodiversity in the Bay. You see, an oyster reef provides much more than oysters. As the reef takes shape, it becomes excellent shelter for other sea life by creating habitat for hundreds of other marine species, including many endangered or threatened species such as Coho Salmon and the Tidewater Goby. Oysters are a crucial component of global ocean health, providing food, jobs, and habitat. Oyster reefs can serve as barriers to storms and tides, preventing erosion and protecting productive estuary waters. So, how can you help? Sheltering in place and social distancing has curtailed many of our programs that would enlist an army of volunteers to build oyster reefs but there are many other ways you can get involved – Join us at Wild Oyster Saturdays, participate with your kid in online classrooms to learn more about our Bivalve Buddies in the Bay, or sign up to be an Oyster Base Camp Captain. We are hopeful that new leadership in the White House will lead to an informed strategy to let us get out into the rewilding together, along with our friends and families. We can always use your financial support. We are a small, grassroots, environmental organization that has been greatly impacted by the pandemic and by the resulting economic downturn. If you are able to do so, please consider a donation to Wild Oyster Project by clicking here. We thank you in advance for your generosity, the oysters thank you and the Bay’s ecosystem and biodiversity thanks you.
Happy Thanksgiving! If you, like me, are joining your friends and family virtually this year, remember, that you are apart now so that next year, we can see everyone in person! Hugs, kisses, shared meals and toasts will be even sweeter! A toast to our collective vision of a swimmable, edible Bay!
- Linda Hunter, Executive Director, Wild Oyster Project
Our distance learning program has launched!
We have six half-hour sessions in our environmental education unit for third through fifth grade classes titled, Our Bivalve Buddies in the Bay: Olympia Oysters, led by Education Manager Reiko Ando. During this school year, we have worked with eleven SFUSD classrooms so far, and if you are in the Bay Area, we would love for your school to join us!
Rosa Parks Elementary School fourth grade teacher Ms. Yamamoto has kindly shared the following -
"This was truly one of the best science units I've ever witnessed. You are an amazing teacher. The students were engaged and interested in a topic they barely knew anything about six weeks ago. Who can make oysters seem so interesting? YOU CAN! Your presentation slides were impressive. I was blown away on the first lesson and after that I was hooked. I would love to have you come every year, if you're offering. This was such a special experience and I can imagine how much more engaging it would be in person. Thank you for bringing this to our classes. I hope we can continue the partnership through volunteering."
Each module involves a multimedia presentation and opportunities for student participation to learn about the Olympia oyster's biology and ecology, and our organization's restoration efforts in an engaging and age appropriate way. If in-person school does resume later in the school year, there will also be opportunities for field trips. If you would like for your class to participate this school year, please email Reiko at reiko@wildoysters.org. We look forward to working with you!
- Reiko Ando, Education Manager at Wild Oyster Project
Holy Moly, Olys!
How to Grow Olympia Oysters ('Olys') From Scratch
On busy days at Bodega Marine Laboratory, you can often find me speed walking through the Aquarium Room to get back to my office for, of course, another zoom meeting. The Aquarium Room is dimly lit with seawater-filled pipes crisscrossing overhead, occasionally dripping with condensation. I come to a huge glowing tank with a bubbling lime green liquid inside. It looks like it should be labeled with a large skull & crossbones pictogram. But this isn’t radioactive goo, it’s photosynthetic algae that is used to grow a very special animal, Olympia oysters.
Olympia oysters (or “Olys”) are native to the West Coast & were once abundant. In the 19th century, their numbers were decimated due to over-harvesting & changes in land use that affected their coastal habitat. The ability to successfully grow Olys in the lab has been essential for replenishing natural populations & restoring living shorelines.
Cooking up a batch of oysters (and no, not like that) requires 3 key steps:
Step 1: Spawning
Most oysters are broadcast spawners, meaning they release their gametes into the water. However, Olys are unique because, while males still release their sperm into the water, the Oly mothers hold on to their eggs, fertilizing them with collected sperm & brooding the larvae for 7-12 days within the shell. In the lab, we convince the oysters it is time to spawn with thermal fluctuations in the seawater that get them “in the mood” for reproduction.
Step 2: Feeding
After fertilization of the eggs results in a whole new generation of swimming larvae, the hungry Olys need to start filter-feeding on algae. Creating large tanks of algae requires extremely sterile conditions, UV sterilized seawater, specially formulated nutrients, & sunlight. At this stage, the larvae are very delicate, so their success hinges (pun intended) on them getting a balanced diet of different, high-quality algae. This larval stage will last for 3-4 weeks & they will grow to the size of a black pepper flake.
Oyster larvae. Photo: James Moore, CDFW. Adult Olympia Oysters. Photo: Gabriel Tsuruta, BML-ARG
Step 3: Settlin’ Down
Finally, like a caterpillar in reverse, they will metamorphose from free-swimming larvae into a two-shelled, bottom-dwelling (and delicious, though tiny) oyster. Once settled, we refer to these oysters as “spat.” For restoration, native oysters are usually settled onto empty Pacific oyster shells, which contain chemical signatures that the wild larvae use to key into habitats already proven to grow oysters. These colonized shells can be deployed into the ocean as the start of future oyster bed habitats. Oysters used for aquaculture are settled onto ground-up oyster shells. This sand-like material keeps the spat from forming aggregations as they would in the wild and allows farmers to move and sell them individually.
As I walk through the hall leading into the Aquarium room, I pass the Aquatic Resource Group’s shellfish hatchery, where millions of oysters are cultured every year. Seeing where this important work takes place, I have high hopes that the Olys will become more commonly available at local oyster bars and, more importantly, rebound in their native habitat, providing innumerable scientific, cultural, & restorative benefits along the way.
About the Authors:
Chelsey Souza wears many hats in the name of oyster spat. She is a key member of the Wild Oyster team as well as a Junior Specialist at Bodega Marine Lab (BML), where she studies shellfish diseases and works closely with the Endangered White Abalone Recovery program headquartered at BML. As a Tomales (no, not “tamales”) Bay native, she grew up slurpin’ oysters on the half shell and has a great appreciation for them as both food and essential components of our local marine ecosystems.
Gabriel Tsuruta is an Animal Technician with BML’s Aquatic Resources Group (ARG), where he facilitates research at every level, from animal collections, to experiment construction, public outreach, and more. The ARG team also manages BML’s highly successful oyster hatchery which provides seed for local oyster farms as well as research and restoration. His favorite band is called, fittingly, The Ocean.
We hope to see you at the Goldman Environmental Prize
The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prestigious annual event honoring grassroots environmental activists from across the globe. Although normally held in-person, this year (like everything else in 2020), the ceremony is going online and is free and open to everyone. We had the honor to attend last year and it is truly inspirational to hear firsthand from activists who let nothing get in the way of environmental justice.
Go to rsvp.goldmanprize.org to register for the event on November 30th. This year's event includes musical performances by Jack Johnson, Michael Franti, and Lenny Kravitz.
A big Save Your Shucks Shout-out to the newest member of the Wild Oyster Project family, Pier 23 Cafe Restaurant & Bar!
A family owned seafood restaurant right on the San Francisco waterfront, Pier 23 Cafe generously donates their oysters shells to help further our work.
"We would love to be a part of restoring the Bay to its former glory!"
- Mac, proprietor Pier 23 Cafe
Thank you for your encouragement and support. If you like to make a donation to Wild Oyster Project, that would be so appreciated.
