Oyster Reefs in danger

OYSTERS are the backbone of marine life along the USA Gulf Coast.  These bivalve molluscs are under grave threat from the current giant oil spill that is encasing the Gulf region.

Along with crabs, shrimp and other shell fish, the oyster beds generate for the region in excess of $6.5 billion in annual revenues.  The commercial oyster production alone accounts for nearly 70% of a total national catch valued at £131.6 million in 2008.

Oysters in the Gulf are the equivalent to the Caribbean’s coral reef structure with the oysters at the base of the pyramid instead of live coral. They are a vital filter system constantly sifting and straining the sea waters of impurities (toxins) from the marine environment for the various estuaries, bays and marshlands around the Gulf coast.  Being bivalves, they are highly susceptible to contamination.  Although oysters are subject to various diseases of their own, they generally do not pose a direct threat to humans consuming infected oysters.

The oil spillage disaster is coming at a very bad time for the molluscs.  It is almost peak season for the adults to begin to release billions of tiny juvenile oysters (the size of a pepper flake) into the water – between the months of May and August.  The juveniles will float and drift in the sea and eventually settle on the reef bed, anchor themselves and grow.  The spillage poses an enormous problem to them achieving this goal.  The oil pollution could have a devastating effect on the industry for years to come.

The oyster ‘beds’ or ‘reef beds’ (the collective name for a group of oysters) around the world has substantially declined over the past few decades. The Gulf Coast in particular has lost approximately 50% of its beds.

In July 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) awarded The Nature Conservancy nearly $3 million in stimulus money to fund an experimental pilot scheme to test various ideas of artificial reef structures along a salt mash island near Mobile Bay, Alabama.    The project sets out to protect approximately 3 acres of oyster reefs and about 30 acres of seagrass habitat; designed to provide a long-term solution to restoring coastal habitat. 

To promote the growth of the new reefs, enough oyster shells were bagged to create a 750 linear meters worth of breakwater. 3,168 Reef Balls and 492 reef cages are planned.  Less than a year into the project, the oil spillage could not have come at a worse time. 

Only time will tell what happens to the new reefs and the existing ones in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sources:  The Nature Conservancy, Nature,