Water

The Billion Oyster Project

What you need to know about the Billion Oyster Project.

By Hhetrick, November 22, 2019

The Billion Oyster Project is a project that is helping the New York Harbor. Oyster reefs have been destroyed by overharvesting and water pollution because of humans. The Billion Oyster Project is restoring oyster reefs in to New York Harbor. Oyster reefs are habitats for hundreds of species. They can also protect New York City from storm damage by reducing flooding, softening the blow of large waves, and preventing erosion along the shorelines. Oyster reefs are great because a healthy 1-acre oyster reef can filter about 24 million gallons of water every day. There are also 75 restaurants that give their oyster shells after the oyster has been eaten to help collect them for this project. The goal is to, by 2035, have put together a billion oysters in the New York Harbor. They work with school in every borough of New York City. They engage many students and educate them on this great idea. The Billion Oyster Project has existed since 2014 and by now they have restored 100 million live oysters, collected 2 million pounds of shells, and engaged 11,000 students. This is great but there are problems with it. You won’t be able to eat oysters in New York that were caught there for a while. In conclusion, overall, this is a great idea and plan. It is going according to plan and it is good for the safety, and education of people. It is also helps many different species.