Olympia oysters are the one native oyster present in Puget Sound and alongside the Washington Coast. Whereas they had been as soon as plentiful alongside shorelines, their populations have seen steep declines over the previous 100 years on account of overharvesting, competitors with non-native shellfish, and water high quality points. Tribes, restoration teams, the shellfish trade, and state companies have been working collectively to deliver again the Olympia oyster. Discovering and buying oyster shells is one large piece of the puzzle to assist rebuild Olympia oyster reefs.
For Tribes and teams like The Puget Sound Restoration Fund (PSRF), Olympia oyster restoration begins with amassing grownup oysters from the Sound, permitting the adults to spawn within the hatchery, amassing and rearing oyster larvae, after which both permitting the larvae to decide on shells as they’d in nature or elevating the larvae into single oysters.
