Queens seems to be turning into the Rockefeller Center of oysters.
A swath of the borough's coastline has been identified as a new mollusk hotspot, a strong sign that the once-abundant bivalves have a chance to thrive again in the Big Apple. .
On Wednesday, 12 volunteers counted about 700 oysters living on the mudflats of Powell's Cove Park. This is part of a city-wide effort to restore struggling populations so that filter-feeders can provide natural benefits to the area, such as water purification and enhanced aquaculture. coastline.
The wild oyster survey, the first conducted by the BOP in northern Queens, is being conducted to determine whether the area has sufficient wild oyster populations and whether the area supports their species. It indicated that it was a suitable place for planting. Artificial oyster reef.
“This actually means that depending on the size and density of oysters we see, we can maintain a functioning reef and support more habitat and biodiversity in the area,” said Virion. Cody Herman, Senior Regional Science Coordinator for the Oyster Project (BOP). he told the Post.
The nonprofit organization is working to restore one billion oysters around New York waters and has already established thriving oyster reefs elsewhere in city waters, including New York Harbor.
Like the other five boroughs, College Point was once rich in oysters. New York City was known as the Big Oyster until pollution and overfishing decimated its population in the 20th century.
To assess the population, volunteers from the neighborhood group Coastal Conservation Network were asked to count as many oysters as possible during a two-hour expedition, a task that may sound tedious. It was.
A small group of three people walked along the muddy shore at low tide, scooping up every oyster they could find, measuring its length, and recording the latitude and longitude of where it was found.
The shell discovered Wednesday contained an oyster about 30 centimeters long, with small molluscs growing on its body and dozens of growth rings on its sides. Just like a tree, the number of rings indicates the age of the organism.
And while promising, literally increasing oyster populations is still off the table.
New Yorkers are prohibited from munching on molluscs and other shellfish because of sewage contamination in Big Apple waters. This has been the main cause of shellfish extinction over the last century.
The research group counted a total of 696 oysters during the expedition.
The strong presence of oysters means College Point Park is a perfect place to install an artificial reef to further increase oyster populations as part of an ongoing BOP project with the Long Island Sound Futures Fund. It means that it has the potential to become a place.
Over the past decade, partners have already placed more than 140 million oysters at restoration sites across the five boroughs, including under the Brooklyn Bridge and the shores of Governors Island.
Oysters aren't just a delicious meal, they're essential to keeping New York's oceans clean. Oysters can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, and coral reefs help prevent soil erosion.
“For us, it's important to know where oysters are already living in order to find places where they can live,” Herman said, adding that the experience gives locals the chance to meet their shellfish friends. It added that it had been provided.
“If you don't really have experience with this kind of thing, you can't manage them. You don't know they exist and you don't care about it. These are the things we really protect. “It's a very important area, very vulnerable to weather changes, storm surges, climate change.”
BOP is still considering whether to take the next step of planting concrete “reef balls” made to mimic natural coral reefs that will provide a hard surface for oysters to grow and hide from predators. It is.
It's not just oysters that benefit from artificial reefs. Spotted hake, eels, blue crabs, and even dolphins are known to thrive thanks to man-made structures.
“We're excited about the future. We're excited to contribute and support processes that are already occurring naturally. There's a lot of beauty in coral reef restoration.” said Ceylin Moya Perez, the site's restoration project manager.
