Expedition Blue

In partnership with the Massachusetts Oyster Project (MOP) and the Town of Barnstable, Barnstable Clean Water Coalition (BCWC) built and installed an oyster upweller tank at Gateway Marina in late July of 2018.

This project began with 50,000, 2mm seed oysters (spat) that were transported from Maine. The goal of this partnership for this upweller project is two-fold: to raise oysters from seed-size (2mm) to juvenile-size (25mm) in the upweller using water pumped from the harbor and to demonstrate that oysters improve water quality and clarity by filtering out nutrients and sediment.

Its second year, the upweller grew 120,000 oysters, which is more than double the initial 50,000 oysters grown in 2018!

Inside the upweller is a tank that contains ten buckets of water, filled with oysters.

The way the upweller works is that water is continuously pumped from Hyannis Harbor into the tank and through the buckets. As the water is pumped into the buckets, the oyster's role is to filter out many harmful sediments, as well as nutrients that may have infiltrated the harbor such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Once it has passed through the buckets, the newly filtrated water is pumped back into Hyannis Harbor.

It is also important to note that the oysters, too, benefit from the process of water filtration, as they are provided with a constant source of food via the phytoplankton and algae that live in the water!

The upweller takes advantage of the numerous benefits of oysters!

• One singular oyster can filter upwards of 40 gallons of water per day.

• The filtering process, which removes harmful nutrients and sediments from the water, also provides a buffer against oceanic acidification.

• Another added bonus to this process is that over time, an oyster's shell will dissolve in the water and release calcium carbonate which helps to balance the pH of the ocean.

Eventually, once the spat have grown to be at least 25mm, they are relocated to a different site in Barnstable waters where they may continue to mature into a size that is considered harvestable (approximately 3 inches) where they will continue to improve water quality by filtering local waters.

• Oysters get their flavor from their environment.

• Oysters change their gender.

• Humans have been consuming and cultivating oysters for thousands of years.

• Eating four oysters a day gives you a complete daily supply of copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and zinc.

• Oysters have been around for approximately 15 million years.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PROJECT:

Life of Oysters panel moderated by artist Steven Koppel featuring Barnstable Town Manager Mark Ells, ARC Shellfish Hatchery President Rick Sawyer, and Naked Oyster Chef/Owner Florence Lowell presented at the Cape Cod Chamber and Cape Cod Blue Economy Foundation's Big Blue Conference on May 3, 2023 at Massachusetts Maritime Academy.