It’s Oyster Week 2024! We’re celebrating by honoring one of our favorite shellfish all week with special features.
Oysters are remarkable. They provide many benefits to the ecosystem they live in. They are filter feeders—they clean the water as they eat. And they grow in reefs, which provide great habitat for many other species. But in many places, their population has plummeted. So we work to restore oyster reefs. They are also a popular seafood. At NOAA, we support research and policy development to grow sustainable aquaculture in the United States. And while they’re growing, aquaculture-grown oysters deliver extra benefits.
Oyster Facts
Some oyster species are native to the United States, while others have been introduced to support shellfish farming.
- The Eastern oyster is the only native oyster on the East Coast of North America. It is found from the Gulf of St. Lawrence around to the Gulf of Mexico, including the Chesapeake Bay.
- The Pacific oyster, introduced from Japan, is a popular West Coast aquaculture species.
Learn About Oysters and NOAA’s Work to Protect Them
Oysters are important in the United States—both environmentally and economically. That’s why we’re working with partners to protect and conserve them. Watch the video to learn more about oysters and our oyster restoration and aquaculture efforts.
Oyster Restoration Features
New Calculator Helps Oyster Growers Measure the Water Quality Benefits of Farms
The new tool provides a science-based estimate of how much nitrogen oyster farms remove from local waterways. It generates a report that can be used in the aquaculture permitting process.
Protecting and Restoring Habitat in Virginia’s Middle Peninsula
Healthy wetlands and oyster reefs support fish, wildlife, and communities.
read more at fisheries.noaa.gov.
