
Oysters on the Half Shell Are Actually Saving New York's Eroding Harbor - rmason
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/10/10/654781446/oysters-on-the-half-shell-are-actually-saving-new-yorks-eroding-harbor
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pvaldes
The main problem for the success of the project is avoiding the propagation of
new oyster diseases in the shells taken at restaurants. As oysters aren't
cooked normally, this could be hypothetically a problem.

It is expected that climatic change will spread also Dermo disease (Perkinsus
marinus) towards the North. MSX and SSO should also be watched. Parasites will
normally proliferate in monocultures like an "all oysters" reef.

~~~
chrisbennet
_”There, rolling shell hills sparkle in the sun while "curing" out in the
elements for one year, a process that rids them of contaminants.”_

~~~
pvaldes
I see. Yup, this could positively solve the problem with many parasites. I
don't know if oyster's herpes or other oyster virus would be distroyed by that
(probably). Looks like a good firewall.

In the end the reef will host all parasites yet present in the area, so they
should expect events of mass mortality here and there and deal with this fact
in their plans.

If restaurants serve oysters imported from different countries of the world
and there are viruses or parasites able to survive some months out of the
water (I don't remind of any currently, but some of those can be hard to
kill), oysterculture in New Jersey and Rhode Island could face another 1950's
and 1990's disasters. I'm speculating of course, but better safe than sorry.

[https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2017/08/11/new-
jers...](https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2017/08/11/new-jersey-
oyster-farmers-betting-on-a-comeback-climate-permitting/)

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pvaldes
Great project, looks like a big step in the good direction

