Oyster
The largest oyster-producing body of water in the United States is Chesapeake Bay, although these beds have decreased in number due to overfishing and pollution. Willapa Bay in Washington produces more oysters than any other estuary in the US. Other large oyster farming areas in the US include the bays and estuaries along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico from Apalachicola, Florida in the east to Galveston, Texas in the west. Large beds of edible oysters are also found in Japan and Australia. In 2005, China accounted for 80% of the global oyster harvest. Within Europe, France remained the industry leader.
Oyster reef restoration
Pete Malinowski is a founder and director of the Billion Oyster Project who hopes to rejuvenate 1 billion oysters into the New York City waters and says, “It used to be known for its oysters. At one time, half of the world’s oysters were harvested in the New York Harbor.” The goal seems ambitious but pales to the number of oysters that populated the waters in colonial times: 3 trillion oysters, and 300,000,000,000,000,000,000 annual spawn of oyster larvae. In September 2016, 85 cages with five gallons of oysters each were tied to a 400 pound anchor and pulled into the harbor to be dropped. For 2 years the department will assess the surrounding water quality and monitor oyster beds.