. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. LIVING FILTERS The initiative to counteract the contamination in the bay began with millions of innovative solutions — oysters. Oysters possess amazing filtering capaci- ties, as one adult oyster can filter approximately the bay. There also was a high incidence of petroleum byproducts — carcinogens that pose dangers from long-term exposure. Thousands of ribbed mussels and clams were placed among the oysters because each of these shellfish targets a different food 10 gallons of water over 24 hours,
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. LIVING FILTERS The initiative to counteract the contamination in the bay began with millions of innovative solutions — oysters. Oysters possess amazing filtering capaci- ties, as one adult oyster can filter approximately the bay. There also was a high incidence of petroleum byproducts — carcinogens that pose dangers from long-term exposure. Thousands of ribbed mussels and clams were placed among the oysters because each of these shellfish targets a different food 10 gallons of water over 24 hours, according to Donovan-Potts. And because the bay contains 101 usable acres of water, the amount of oysters needed to filter the entire bay would have to be substantial. In this case, three million oysters were placed within the bay over a four-year period. That adds up to at least 30 million gallons of water being filtered each day. The main concern was to filter the imme- diate danger of E. coli and other bacteria from Oysters feed on heavy organics and con- taminants. Ribbed mussels eat phytoplankton. Clams feed on bacteria. Because "oysters have the greater filtering capabilities," they were used the most, accord- ing to Donovan-Potts. Valued for research purposes only, the oysters cannot be eaten and may be contami- nated with the same pollutants they filter. Juvenile oysters, known as spat, were placed throughout the water column of the bay in mesh bags. Spat start at 20 mm and can grow to 120 mm. And, the tiny oysters are cheap —just $18 per thousand. Reviving the bay also required boosting oxygen levels. Five aerating devices were placed in the bay to pull oxygenated water from the surface and force it towards the oxygen- depleted bay bottom. The hope is to pull flow in from the New River and restore the natural hydrology of the bay. Once the aerators no longer are needed in Wilson Bay, they will be moved to other restoration projects. Meanwhile, five hyd
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