The Wild Oyster Project is dedicated to restoring wild oysters to the San Francisco Bay through community involvement and stewardship.
They are inspired by the community-focused oyster restoration projects around the United States, and by their dedicated volunteers and students who have embraced their cause.
The Wild Oyster Project works towards restoring wild oysters in the San Francisco Bay, a shallow estuarine system that once had significant intertidal habitat: land that is below water during high tide and above water during low tide.
Before industrial activities such as filling, dredging, and channelization changed the Bay, millions of oysters, living on expansive reefs, thrived in these areas.
Today, only a tiny fraction of the oyster population exists. Enough wild oysters live in the San Francisco Bay to rebuild reefs, but the oysters don’t have the hard surfaces such as other oysters to attach to and grow.
The Wild Oyster Project is working with local oyster farmers and oyster lovers to recycle oyster shells to build native oyster reefs.
They are also partnering with local planners and developers to build sustainable natural habitats to protect against erosion and rising sea levels.
Perhaps of most interest to ferry riders, construction of native oyster reefs will help reduce erosion along shorelines.
At the same time, this helps to restore other ecosystem services to the estuary, including filtering the murky waters of our bay.