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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Coral reefs get all the buzz. Showy, flashy colors, bright, beautiful fish, and bathtub-warm water always helps. But there's a native ecosystem in Massachusetts that does just as much heavy lifting, with none of the credit: oyster reefs.
Oysters are filter feeders. They clean huge quantities of water by forcing the water through their gills. Together in large clumps, the shellfish form oyster reefs, which experts say are some of the most imperiled natural ecosystems anywhere.
Steve Kirk of The Nature Conservancy spoke to WBZ NewsRadio in honor of World Reef Day on Thursday. He said the Conservancy is trying to maintain the oyster reefs that still exist along the Massachusetts coast, and bring back reefs that have disappeared.
"They filter water which cleans the coastal waters, they provide habitats for marine species, and in some circumstances they can stabilize the shoreline, increasing our coastal resilience," he said.
Oysters tend to punch above their weight. One single adult oyster can clean fifty gallons of seawater a day. By keeping the water clean, reefs of oysters strengthen other ecosystems, which resist intense storms in turn. Kirk said that might have sizable impacts on the people living along the coast.
It isn't all rosy for the oysters. Native oyster reefs are mostly gone, decimated by years of human interference. 85% of all oyster reefs have disappeared globally.
"Overfishing and the mechanism for harvesting oysters in our history has damaged their habitat and reduced their population," he said.
Kirk and the Conservancy are encouraging Massachusetts fisheries to farm oysters. Through the Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration (SOAR) program, they're buying oysters from the farmers and restoring the reefs on their own.
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