What is an oyster? Why should students care about its existence in New Haven Harbors? Although students are aware of beach closings and may be impacted by these bothersome events, it is important they understand beach closings are only one result of water pollution. Another more dangerous and far-reaching consequence of pollution is the poisoning of our food and destruction of a vital business. Even if students do not eat oysters and may not care about their well-being, they will learn oysters provide a valuable balance to our surrounding waters. Oysters process deposited materials at the bottom of the Sound, helping to balance oxygen levels in our waters that enables swimming and fishing.
Oysters are mollusks that are an integral part of the food web of Long Island Sound and its waterways. (Anatomy, Figure 2, Appendix). Oysters thrive on photoplankton, microscopic plants, which are produced in the salt marshes. Because they feed on microscopic plants that are the beginning of our local food chain, and are consumed directly by people, a study of these creatures provides an excellent example of how we can poison ourselves by polluting our own food sources in the Sound.
The study of oysters illustrates a direct link between man and the productivity of the salt marshes and wetlands. (Figure 3, Appendix) The oysters natural habitat is between the low tide mark and a depth of twenty to thirty feet.
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They spawn in shallow waters, in harbors or estuaries where freshwater is mixed with salt. New Haven Harbor is ideal: it is four miles long, one and a half miles wide, has three rivers flowing into it and is shallow.
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However, because it is so polluted, no oysters taken directly from the harbor can be eaten. They have to be transferred to safe waters for fourteen days. This increases the cost of oystering and limits their availability.
Oysters help balance the whole Long Island Sound ecosystem. They process estaurine materials and biofilter the water. Oysters reduce large amounts of phytoplankton, a microscopic plant that helps manage pH and oxygen levels in the water. Too much phytoplankton can endanger fish and other organisms in the system. The presence of oysters stabilizes the pH and regulates the oxygen concentrations in the water, reducing fish mortalities. They also cycle nutrients through filtration and excretion.
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A model was developed by Ulanowicz and Tuttle (1992) to determine how much the food web might be affected by the disappearance of oysters. In their model, oysters were “rehabilitated.” The results were a 150% increase in oyster stock and a 17% increase in carnivorous fishes; zooplankton and phytoplankton, which rob oxygen from the Sound, were reduced 89 and 11% respectively. So if students claim indifference to the fate of the oyster, they will discover their fishing, swimming and other leisure activities are at risk should pollution continue to erode their habitat.
Many different groups of people are dependent upon the oyster’s health, either directly or indirectly. For example, the industry has generated millions annually, employing thousands of people who are dependent upon unpolluted marshes. Because the processing of oysters is so expensive because of water pollution, they are now very expensive and not so popular. As a result, according to the
New Haven Register
of April 1, 1984, although 87% of all Connecticut seed oysters (oysters less than two years old) are grown in New Haven Harbor, its leaders are no longer New Haven men. The processing of oysters is now done by only two large companies—one in Norwalk and one in Long Island where the oysters are cleaned. So a local business that started and thrived in our community had to move because of pollution in our harbors.
The oyster has been an integral part of New Haven’s economy and culture for years. Since its discovery, New Haveners have been harvesting oysters. Each resident would gather whatever they needed. In 1762 the first laws were passed limiting oyster harvesting. A two bushel daily limit was implemented. Today few residents harvest oysters. Only two companies extract oysters from New Haven harbor and they are farmed in cleaner waters elsewhere. What happened?
Oystering had been easy those early days in Fair Haven—and profitable. The oyster is a creature that thrives in estuaries such as New Haven Harbor. Around 1850, a local resident discovered how to plant seed oysters to increase production. Oysters from Southern waters could be transplanted in New Haven harbor to increase production during our relatively short season. Harvesting and sales exploded. In 1880 2.5 million pounds were harvested in New Haven. By 1898, more than 15 million pounds of oysters were harvested per year.
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From 1900 on, there has been a decline because of overharvesting, and the population had not returned, partially because of pollutants.
Not only was the early oyster industry tremendously beneficial to our local economy, but oysters themselves are an excellent, healthy food source. While the oyster has few calories, it provides vitamins A, B, C, and D. One pound supplies 7% of our total daily energy requirements, 28% of our total protein requirements, 35% of calcium, 53% of phosphorus and 136% of the iron requirements.
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Furthermore, it was inexpensive as well.
The availability of local oysters is therefore dependent upon wastewater management, a critical issue in Long Island Sound and New Haven Harbor preservation. The pollutants from waste water settle on the bottom of our estuaries—where the algae are consumed directly by oysters. The overflow of wastewater processing plants is also responsible for more than three local beach closings this summer as well.
Three primary sewage treatment plant overflows empty into the harbor. Boulevard, East Street and East Shore Sewage Treatment Plants serve New Haven and other area residents. In addition, 24 overflows from combined sewers spill into Harbor waters, either directly or through storm sewers. This dumping disturbs Quinnipiac River and New Haven Harbor estuaries that need a nutrient-rich habitat for shellfish such as oysters. Brown algae, and the Sound’s muck all but wiped out Long Island Oyster Farms, Inc. the biggest oyster farm on the Sound.
Students may directly contribute to wastewater, as well as larger corporate pollution culprits. Many groups of people contribute to non-point source pollution (NPS). If we wash our cars and permit the soaps or oils to run into groundwater, we have polluted our rivers, and by extension, Long Island Sound. As a result of our activities, we corrupt waters to the point where its habitants can poison us if eaten. Admittedly beach closings on a 90 degree day are bothersome. But beach closings are insignificant when compared to the fact where are poisoning our local food sources!
It is only since the 1980’s that there has been a resurgence in the industry in New Haven. In the 1970’s the Environmental Protection Agency issues strict new guidelines to polluters of the Sound that has resulted in cleaner waters and a resurgence in the oyster industry. Oysters have survived. The
New Haven Register
reported on April 1, 1984 that “Oysters are Happy as Clams in the Harbor.” Stringent new laws require even small amounts of spillage must be reported and the Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency must respond. A new sewage plant was in complete operation in the late 1980’s which lessened pollution in the Harbor.
One-third of Long Island Sound’s coastal wetlands has been destroyed by development, wrecking the irreplaceable habitat for fish, shellfish and plants. If all this damage is done to an important aquatic resource, why does waterside development and pollution continue? The residents of the city of New Haven demand paved streets for driving ease and safety. Paving street and parking lots destroys oyster beds miles away. Commuters need to get in and out of New Haven to work every day. The carbon dioxide pollutes the air and waters. Oil needs to be transported to the city for fuel. The oil spills end up in the estuaries’ sediments, which poison the oyster. Parks and golf courses use fertilizers for green grass. Residents demand waterfront property and pay developers a premium for their views and water access. Construction workers need jobs developing these houses. In short, our urban community, New Haven, places exorbitant demands on a limited resource. Residents and commuters alike have demands which conflict with water preservation.