Editing Oyster (section)

===Restoration and recovery===

{{Main|Oyster reef restoration}}

In many areas, non-native oysters have been introduced in attempts to prop up failing harvests of native varieties. For example, the [[eastern oyster]] (''Crassostrea virginica'') was introduced to California waters in 1875, while the Pacific oyster was introduced there in 1929.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://aqua.ucdavis.edu/dbweb/outreach/aqua/ASAQ-A07.PDF
|title=California Oyster Culture
|publisher=[[University of California, Davis]] Department of Animal Science
|author=Conte, Fred S.
|access-date=16 January 2008
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071201091053/http://aqua.ucdavis.edu/dbweb/outreach/aqua/ASAQ-A07.PDF |archive-date = 1 December 2007}}</ref> Proposals for further such introductions remain controversial.

The Pacific oyster prospered in [[Pendrell Sound]], where the surface water is typically warm enough for spawning in the summer. Over the following years, spat spread out sporadically and populated adjacent areas. Eventually, possibly following adaptation to the local conditions, the Pacific oyster spread up and down the coast and now is the basis of the North American west coast oyster industry. Pendrell Sound is now a reserve that supplies spat for cultivation.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://bcsga.ca/?page_id=110
|title=Shellfish Tenures Locations Map
|access-date=16 January 2008
|archive-date=19 November 2007
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071119105404/http://bcsga.ca/?page_id=110
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
Near the mouth of the [[Great Wicomico River]] in the [[Chesapeake Bay]], five-year-old [[artificial reef]]s now harbor more than 180 million native ''[[Crassostrea virginica]]''. That is far lower than in the late 1880s, when the bay's population was in the billions, and watermen harvested about {{convert|910000|m3|e6impbsh|abbr=unit}} annually. The 2009 harvest was less than {{convert|7300|m3|impbsh|abbr=on}}. Researchers claim the keys to the project were:
* using waste oyster shells to elevate the reef floor {{convert|25|-|45|cm|in|abbr=on}} to keep the spat free of bottom sediments
* building larger reefs, ranging up to {{convert|8.1|ha|acre|frac=4|abbr=on}} in size
* disease-resistant broodstock<ref name=ches180>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/science/04oyster.html |title= Oysters Are on the Rebound in the Chesapeake Bay |last=Fountain |first=Henry |newspaper=The New York Times |date= 3 August 2009 |access-date=25 August 2009}}</ref>

The "oyster-tecture" movement <!--espoused by Assistant Professor Kate Orff of the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, -->promotes the use of oyster reefs for water purification and wave attenuation.  <!--As of 2011, coverage of the Gowanus Canal Parade of Oyster Spats is unavailable.<ref>{{cite web|author=GrrlScientist |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/feb/03/1 |title=Oyster-tecture: Reviving New York City's rivers with oysters |work=The Guardian |date=3 February 2011 |access-date=16 August 2011}}</ref>--> An oyster-tecture project has been implemented at Withers Estuary, Withers Swash, South Carolina, by Neil Chambers-led volunteers, at a site where pollution was affecting beach tourism.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://dirt.asla.org/2011/02/24/oyster-tecture-in-action/|title=Oyster-Tecture in Action|date=24 February 2011|work=THE DIRT|access-date=12 December 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=14 April 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130414064516/http://dirt.asla.org/2011/02/24/oyster-tecture-in-action/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Currently, for the installation cost of $3000, roughly 4.8 million liters of water are being filtered daily. In New Jersey, however, the Department of Environmental Protection refused to allow oysters as a filtering system in Sandy Hook Bay and the Raritan Bay, citing worries that commercial shellfish growers would be at risk and that members of the public might disregard warnings and consume tainted oysters. New Jersey Baykeepers responded by changing their strategy for utilizing oysters to clean up the waterway, by collaborating with Naval Weapons Station Earle. The Navy station is under 24/7 security and therefore eliminates any [[poaching]] and associated human health risk.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nynjbaykeeper.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61&Itemid=68|title=NY/NJ Baykeeper {{!}} Protect, Preserve, Restore|website=www.nynjbaykeeper.org|language=en-US|access-date=12 December 2017}}</ref> Oyster-tecture projects have been proposed to protect coastal cities, such as New York, from the threat of rising sea levels due to [[climate change]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.scapestudio.com/projects/oyster-tecture/|title=Oyster-tecture – SCAPE|work=SCAPE|access-date=12 December 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> Additionally [[Oyster reef restoration]] has shown to increase the population of oyster beds within the oceans while also conserving the biolife within the oyster reefs.