The Blue Point oyster(牡蛎) is returning to the Great South Bay of New York after almost disappearing from the world marketplace. Over-farming, pollution and Hurricane Sandy had severely damaged the Blue Point oyster business. Now, the population is growing in its home on the coast of Long Island, about 100 kilometers from New York City.
When the huge ocean storm called Sandy hit Long Island in 2013 it destroyed the Blue Point oyster beds. John Cochrane is a councilman (议员)in the Town of Islip.
"There was 15-foot [4.5 meter] seas hitting those beds. It took all the oysterman's tools and oysters and tore half of them away from their anchoring(抛锚) and the other half got slammed (猛放)into the bay bottom and got destroyed."
The Great Atlantic Oyster Farms company will be a major part of regrowing the oyster population in the Great South Bay. Marty Byrnes is an aquaculturist(水产养殖人员) with the company. He is responsible for getting adult oysters to spawn - lay eggs and produce the young that turn into millions of oysters.
Marty Byrnes grows the plant food of oysters, algae, in large tanks filled with salt water. The young absorb their algae diet for about two and a half weeks. Then, baby oysters appear.
After six weeks, millions upon millions of these little oysters are taken to farms in the bay. They are placed in wire boxes to grow to harvesting size. In 18 months, these oysters will be ready for market.
The Blue Point is back. And the oysters are not just good to eat. They are also good to the water. Each oyster can filter more than 150 liters of water a day, removing algae, nitrogen, and other pollutants.
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