I understand that there are 2 types of oysters. There is one that can reproduce and one that can't. Most farms use the ones that can't because they grow much faster (hence are harvestable faster). Wouldn't it make sense to also grow some regular ones? They'd help repopulate the Bay naturally, no? What I mean is maybe the credit should be (partially?) used to grow the other ones, let them reproduce once or twice before harvesting.
Part of it is brand consistency. Diploid(wild) oysters vary in quality across the year, whereas triploid ( the kind we grow in aquaculture) are basically the same year around. Also, growing triploids still help wild oysters. Oysters need a surface to grow on. Preferably other oysters. As the triploids clean the water it makes it easier on wild oysters which improves breeding. And some farms, such as the one I'm at, dump our old shells back into the water which provides surfaces for the wild oysters to cling to and grow.
Boycott the triploid oysters. They are so bad for oyster farmers, it's like unseeded fruits and vegetables, it does not give farmers the power to grow more from seeds it's like Monsanto control
The issue that I see is these filter feeders are also consuming zygote,gamete and larvae of many different species. Phytoplankton do not contain the essential fatty acids and proteins that is needed to generate the individual biomass. We have these unprecedented algal events so the obvious linear expectation is a dramatic increase with the aggregate natural oyster biomass. We know that's not the case.
How about we prioritize growing those oysters to put back in the bay instead of eating them. 🤷🏾♂️ seems like that would go a lot further than restoring the ecology of the bay
