Oysters in Raritan Bay

[NoLimit]

Originally Posted by bbfisherman

They do not want people to eat or harvest the oysters in Raritan Bay. That was and is the major stumbling block. They are there to clean up the water and maybe protect against storm surge.

Can someone explain how oysters are going to have any appreciable effect on major storm swells? I dont see that happening. Also, like anything else, there are sustainable levels of any population. There is no reason why some cant be harvested.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Oysters form reefs and shoals which cause waves to break out in the water instead of breaking directly on shore and compromising the shore line. Not sure about harvesting but if there is enough of them, there is a demand and like anything else, if it’s feasable someone will figure it out. Oysters are big business in other parts of the country and used to be in our area too...

[Hookmanski]

Originally Posted by NoLimit

Can someone explain how oysters are going to have any appreciable effect on major storm swells? I dont see that happening. Also, like anything else, there are sustainable levels of any population. There is no reason why some cant be harvested.

^See Gerry's response about the storm swells, they're very helpful for that. In addition, yes a reasonable amount of oysters could be harvested, but because the population was so low it's going to take time for that population to be rebuilt. This is an excerpt from the article linked above..

"The two reefs at the naval station are the only oyster reefs on the New Jersey side of Raritan Bay, according to Comi.......Experimental oyster reefs are generally banned in New Jersey over worries that oysters raised in contaminated waters will accidentally end up in the food supply. "

So while we are making progress with oysters reproducing naturally, we are far from being ready to harvest them in any kind of real numbers. It'd be way better to leave them alone and let them clean our polluted waters and help protect our coastlines.

[Gerry Zagorski]

And here is an article that describes how prolific they were around here back in the day https://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/06/01...nd-its-oysters

[blindalfred]

Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski

And here is an article that describes how prolific they were around here back in the day https://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/06/01...nd-its-oysters

Good article on an interesting topic. If anybody is looking for a longer take try "The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell" Jan 9, 2007
by Mark Kurlansky (referenced at the end of the article). Anything by this guy is exhaustive and interesting.

[june181901]

Have read the book that Blindalfred recommends. Good reading about what we once had at our doorstep. My impression was pollution knocked them out not over harvesting.Available in libraries.

[shrimpman steve]

Most people don’t realize how historically significant the oyster was in the very early days on new Amsterdam (New York).

[NoLimit]

Originally Posted by Hookmanski

^See Gerry's response about the storm swells, they're very helpful for that. In addition, yes a reasonable amount of oysters could be harvested, but because the population was so low it's going to take time for that population to be rebuilt. This is an excerpt from the article linked above..

"The two reefs at the naval station are the only oyster reefs on the New Jersey side of Raritan Bay, according to Comi.......Experimental oyster reefs are generally banned in New Jersey over worries that oysters raised in contaminated waters will accidentally end up in the food supply. "

So while we are making progress with oysters reproducing naturally, we are far from being ready to harvest them in any kind of real numbers. It'd be way better to leave them alone and let them clean our polluted waters and help protect our coastlines.

Farmed oysters grow to 3" in 3 years. They do not take that long to grow to harvestable size. In any case, I am dead set against the govt making any ocean food source off limits. If they do that with oysters, its a simple step to do the same for clams or whatever.

[reason162]

Originally Posted by NoLimit

Farmed oysters grow to 3" in 3 years. They do not take that long to grow to harvestable size. In any case, I am dead set against the govt making any ocean food source off limits. If they do that with oysters, its a simple step to do the same for clams or whatever.

I think you are completely missing the point of Gerry's OP. Native oysters were gone for decades...they filter/clean our water and serve as bulkheads against erosion. They are also canaries in a coal mine, a good thing too considering what is in store for our water supply under the current EPA.

[Capt. Debbie]

I guess two themes here. Food versus function.

There were many private oyster farms on the Hudson River in Edgewater about a 100 years ago.

The Hackensack River Keeper has been a proponent of seeding the Hackensack River above Jersey City. But state is afraid they will be consumed. I'm not sure how people will actually rake them. The boat traffic on that river is like a tumble weed in a western town circa 1890. LOL