A grassroots restoration initiative is catching traction in Palm Beach County.
Oysters. A favorite habitat for various inshore species and favored by the anglers who fish around them for this very reason. Of course, we also enjoy a dozen with a cold libation at the local watering hole from time to time, as well.
Oysters serve many purposes, but often overlooked is their ability to clean water as they filter feed. One oyster can filter up to 50 gallons a day! That’s impressive. As they filter this water, they use their gills (yep! oysters have gills) and mucous membrane to filter, trap and ingest suspended particles found in the water. These are small bits of algae, detritus (decaying plant matter) and other microscopic material. This helps process excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus found in the water.
These nutrients are often introduced to the ecosystem by runoff and the dumping of freshwater from spillways, contributing to water quality troubles. Excess nutrients throughout an estuary can cause various issues such as detrimental algal blooms, turbid water and sediment buildup along the bottom, smothering things like seagrass, reducing sunlight needed for photosynthesis.
Oysters Key to Lake Restoration
The short of it is this: more oysters, more water being filtered, a cleaner and healthier ecosystem. Oyster restoration in various forms is well-established around the U.S. coastline. The Palm Beach County Fishing Foundation (PBCFF), charitable affiliate of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club, recently embarked on a strategy of adding vertical oyster gardens to the Lake Worth Lagoon, one of the most important bodies of water in the county…