Oysters and their wonders

There is a tender scene in the mini-series, “All the Light We Cannot See,” a movie adaptation from a novel of the same title by Anthony Doerr, where the blind female protagonist, Marie-Laure, and her father wade through a secret cavern by the French coastal town of Saint-Malo, where they sought refuge to escape from the German invasion of Paris during World War II. Apart from the poignant conversation between the two characters, a stunning part of the movie is how the underground grotto amazingly teems with oysters. Columns upon columns of them! While harvesting, father and daughter slurp fresh wiggly oysters, delighting in their repute. Marie’s father declares: “Oysters from the fortress grotto used to be the best in the world, and they still are,” to which she pleasingly replies: “Perfection!”

I remember that part of the movie while attending a morning forum that focused on clean waters and oysters. Like in the film, I read how oysters were so plentiful along American shorelines, “they were grilled and sold along the streets of New York City” while shells piled up on the streets and in the harbors.

The event was in time for World Water Day (declared by the UN in 1993), Earth Hour and Women’s Month upon the invitation of a good friend, Vicky Maronilla-Abueg, director of finance and operations of Billion Oyster Project (BOP). I heard about BOP from the time I met Vicky here in New York as she proudly talked about their advocacy as a non-profit organization, whose primary goal is to restore oyster reefs along the New York Harbor. I intimated to her my desire to visit the site in Governors Island and the possibility of volunteering during the field season of May to November.

At the forum, Carolyn Khoury, BOP’s director of restoration, talked about the ecological functions of oysters. Ms. Khoury shared that NY Harbor is an urban estuary that is “heavily used and heavily developed.”  Amid the mounting climate crisis, oysters play the role of unsung heroes quietly working in places underneath waters, while restoration of oysters, Ms. Khoury suggests, is “an effort that is hard to see.” Oysters play the pivotal role of filter feeders, cleaning the water as they eat, thus enhancing water quality.

The reefs, on one hand, serve as habitat for underwater species that can eventually protect New York in the event of huge storms. “Oysters protect the city from storm damage by softening the blow of large waves, reducing flooding and preventing erosion along the shorelines.”

A World Wildlife Fund (WWF) story explores on how oyster reefs remain as important breeding grounds for a variety of marine species. Known as “master builders,” oysters create complex microhabitats that serve as powerful magnets for diverse marine life. As such, the reefs function as safe havens for marine creatures – big and small – thus enhancing biodiversity in a particular area.

Ms. Khoury enthusiastically mentioned how BOP is working with NY Parks to identify oyster restoration sites and “restoring oyster reefs through public education initiatives.” The programs are through the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, a public high school on Governors Island, site of the first reef constructed in 2010. Harbor School “provides real-world training for careers and prep for college, through the Career and Technical Education programs.” The courses are in marine biology, scuba diving, aquaculture, marine vessel operations, ocean engineering, marine policy advocacy, etc.

The BOP website mentions that when it was founded 11 years ago by Murray Fisher and Pete Malinowski who imagined a “healthy and biodiverse New York Harbor,” they claimed to have fallen in love with the environment as children. They realized that when students have the hands-on experience to bring back to life a decaying harbor, they respond with keen interest and great fervor.

The BOP, which was initially “funded through regional and federal partnerships,” has “no direct funding sources.” It thrives through memberships, donations and corporate partnerships. At the event, an e-vehicle company and a start-up business that creates elegant pearl jewelry, whose corporate philosophies align with BOP’s, have earmarked part of their revenues to the organization. As the jewelry company’s owner expressed, oysters produce the most magical materials called pearls and “pearls are the most sustainable gems because they require no mining.”

At the end of the forum, Vicky and I optimistically envisioned how such endeavors are relevant and could be replicated in our country. A thought we shared with Jessi Olssen, BOP’s corporate partnership manager. Because oysters are abundant in the Philippines, we could take inspiration from their projects in restoring our dying waters, such as Manila’s erstwhile jewel, the Pasig River, or parts of Manila Bay, famed for its glorious sunset but is now gaining infamy for its deteriorating shores. The initiatives could be through strengthening volunteerism in shore clean-ups such as the experience of a lady guest who participated in cleaning up the seashores of Long Island. She imparted how “volunteering in seashore clean-up is so much fun and like going to the gym.” Low impact in the beginning and high impact in the end. She saw how clear the water has become after two years.

While we can no longer undo Manila Bay’s dolomite project, moving forward, I hope our local government officials and legislators would be more judicious and instead allocate funds for shore clean-ups or embark on projects aimed at saving our seas and waters. I read about the Talaba Festival of Alaminos in Pangasinan. Beyond grilling oysters to celebrate their plenty, could the revelry dovetail with an activity that would make use of the shells gathered after the celebration? Could they be constructed into reefs and used in partnership with existing programs aimed at restoring our waters? The stakes look high for now but as we appreciate and understand more about oysters and their wonders, they seem worth undertaking.