Over the course of 10 years, the Billion Oyster Project, one of New York’s most ambitious rewilding initiatives, has planted 150 million larvae in its harbour. Did it work?. The eastern oyster has lived in the Hudson River estuary for at least 6,000 years. With 350 sq miles (900 sq km) of oyster reef, some biologists estimate that the New York harbour used to contain half of the world’s oyster population.