WJZ out of Baltimore, Maryland has a cool time lapse video of the impact that Oysters can have on water clarity in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Here's the story:
The Oyster Recovery Partnership in Maryland is trying to spread the word about the natural filtration powers of oysters.
The organization posted a time lapse video Tuesday that shows how oysters can clean water.
“The magic of oysters is the magic of filtration,” the post says. “Take an oyster, plant it in a viable habitat, and in time it can filter as much as 50 gallons of water a day. Plant thousands of oysters, and you can significantly improve water quality and clarity. Their effectiveness is so impressive, in fact, that many experts consider a thriving population to be vital to the lifeline of the Chesapeake Bay. Both of these tanks were filled with water and algae from the Severn River in Maryland. The tank on the left holds 20 mature oysters. Time lapse was five hours.”
...and here's the video:
According to Google, I grew up about 5 miles from the Severn River and I used to boat, and ski, and swim in the river. In 2004, Rob Hicks, Doug Lipton and I published a report based on a study we conducted for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to estimate the benefits of Oyster Reef restoration in the Chesapeake Bay region. Here's part of what we found.
"...we estimate the coastal population in [Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey and North Carolina] willingness to pay for a 10,000 acre oyster sanctuary with 1,000 acres of constructed oyster reef to be at least $14.91 per household per year with a median estimate of $86.86 per household per year. Aggregating to the general population, we estimate the non-use value of a ten year oyster reef project, consisting of 10,000 acres of oyster sanctuary and 1,000 acres of artificial reef to be at least $114.95 million."
The cost is estimated to be about $15m.
According to Trumponomics, restoration costs money.
Therefore, it is not worth it.
