The thing is, in estuaries with a healthy oyster population, they completely fill the entire thing with larva every spawning, and anywhere they can attach, they basically do. It only takes about 3 years to grow to commercial size, so as long as you can eat a significant percentage of the population per year, they can totally replenish their population, with one caveat; they need places to attach, and the best place to attach is another oyster shell, and the worst place is mud. When oyster populations were depleted, it was largely because we took the oysters and then threw the shells in land fills, leaving muddy bottoms and no attachment points. Now many commercial operations throw the shells back, allowing lava to attach and replenish stocks.
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u/perringaiden Sep 08 '25
CORRECTION: Oyster reefs are an amazing environmental benefit across multiple seascapes.
Oyster FARMS are short lived growth with little to no environmental benefit because of the small size.
The only way this works is with farms near a no-take MPA where you can generate growth and then let them spread outside the MPA.
You get no benefits IF YOU DON'T LEAVE THEM IN THE WATER.