A century ago, vast reefs of Eastern Oysters, Crassostrea virginica, stretched across Great Bay cleaning the water, sheltering fish, and forming one of New Hampshire’s most important coastal habitats. Today, a fraction of those wild oyster beds remains. But across the bay, a quiet movement is underway to bring them back one shell and a few baby oysters at a time.

In this episode of Time and Tide, we’re focusing on a small animal with an outsized impact, the Eastern Oyster. We’ll start with the basics: what oysters are, how they live, and why they matter so much to estuaries like Great Bay. From there, we look back in time at the natural history of oysters in granite state waters, to understand why they’ve experienced a 90% decline.

But don't worry, this is ultimately a story about restoration. Brianna Group and Kelsey Meyer from The Nature Conservancy describe how in classic New Hampshire fashion, people from all walks of life are working together to see oysters thrive. Researchers, farmers, volunteers, restaurants, nonprofits, and consumers are all part of the restoration equation.

Some of these oyster restoration projects are big, requiring a football field worth of oyster shells. Dave Beattie and Dale Pike from the Coastal Conservation Association of New Hampshire explain how restaurants can turn their waste into the foundation for tomorrow’s reefs.

In the final act of this story, we hear why restoring wild oysters matters to two sisters working in the oyster business. Laura Brown and Krystin Ward are part of this restoration network and enjoy being able to provide their large, ‘ugly’ oysters for a greater purpose.

Full episode transcript is available below.

Guest Speakers:

Kelsey Meyer-Rust, Ph.D., Coastal Conservation Coordinator, The Nature Conservancy New Hampshire

Brianna Group, Great Bay Program Manager, The Nature Conservancy New Hampshire

Capt. David Beattie, Oyster Recycling Coordinator, Coastal Conservation Association

Dale Pike, Secretary, Coastal Conservation Association and Ocean Conservationist Volunteer with the Nature Conservancy

Laura Brown, Owner and Operator, Fox Point Oysters

Krystin Ward, Laboratory Research Supervisor at the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture and Owner of Choice Oysters

Hosted by: Brian Yurasits, Science Communication Specialist, New Hampshire Sea Grant

Co-Hosted by: Erik Chapman, Executive Director, New Hampshire Sea Grant

Produced by: Brian Yurasits

Further reading:

Restoring Oyster Reefs in New Hampshire’s Great Bay – The Nature Conservancy

Oyster Recycling Project - Coastal Conservation Association

New Hampshire Sea Grant – Oyster Aquaculture

Fox Point Oysters - Laura Brown

Choice Oysters - Krystin Ward

University of New Hampshire Oyster Research

New Hampshire Sea Grant works to enhance our relationship with the coastal environment to sustain healthy and resilient ecosystems, economies, and communities through integrated research, extension, education, and communications efforts. Based at the University of New Hampshire, New Hampshire Sea Grant is one of 34 programs in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program, a state-federal partnership serving America’s coasts. Learn more by visiting: seagrant.unh.edu

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