November 15, 2013 — As part of the state Coastal Conservancy's San Francisco Bay Living Shoreline Project, reefs were built and dropped about 600 feet into San Rafael Bay near Starkweather Park last July. A little more than a year later, more than 2 million Olympia oysters, and other associated creatures, have turned up.
"We are trying to figure out the best methods to restore oysters," said Marilyn Latta, project manager, as she looked out at the site during low tide this week. "If this is successful we can expand it to other parts of the bay. We want to see what works before we scale this up."
Restoring the native oysters is important, according to researchers.
The Olympia oyster, which measures no more than 1.5 inches in diameter when fully grown, once was plentiful in the bay, acting as a water purifier, as well as habitat and food for a variety of fish species.
One of its key functions is its ability to act as a mini-filter. Although small, they can take in large quantities of sea water — as much as 20 to 30 quarts an hour — and extract pollutants and algae-causing plankton.
Their reefs may also serve to protect shorelines from wave action and erosion; initial studies of the San Rafael site shows a 30 percent reduction in wave force.
Read the full story at the Marin Independent Journal