Oysters once filled the Chesapeake Bay, but overharvesting had cut their numbers by more than 99% by 2011, by one estimate. NPR reports on a Kent Island resident who is helping to turn that around from the end of his pier.
John Consoli, a photographer at the University of Maryland, raises oysters to restock the bay, where each adult can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day. He has persuaded his neighbours, some in their 80s, to grow them too. In August he and a team of volunteers placed a million baby oysters around the pilings of a local dock.
Researchers at the university, led by engineer Miao Yu, are building sonar-equipped robots and AI tools to map oyster reefs and guide where to plant. Scientists say wild oysters have partly recovered thanks to restoration and better management.
Source: NPR