CONTACT | DONATE | EVENTS

Barnstable Clean Water Coalition
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • BCWC Board of Directors
    • BCWC Staff
    • Contact Us
  • EVENTS
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Educate
    • Monitor
    • Mitigate
    • Advocate
  • NEWS
  • GET INVOLVED
  • RESOURCES
    • BCWC Video Library
    • A Guide to Clean Water Living on Cape Cod
    • Native New England Garden
    • Cape Cod Water Quality Management Plan (208 Plan)
    • Affiliated Organizations
    • APCC’s Cyanobacteria Monitoring
    • MassDEP
    • Water Quality Information
    • Town of Barnstable Resources
    • Town of Barnstable’s Water Resources Brochure
  • DONATE
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • BCWC Board of Directors
    • BCWC Staff
    • Contact Us
  • EVENTS
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Educate
    • Monitor
    • Mitigate
    • Advocate
  • NEWS
  • GET INVOLVED
  • RESOURCES
    • BCWC Video Library
    • A Guide to Clean Water Living on Cape Cod
    • Native New England Garden
    • Cape Cod Water Quality Management Plan (208 Plan)
    • Affiliated Organizations
    • APCC’s Cyanobacteria Monitoring
    • MassDEP
    • Water Quality Information
    • Town of Barnstable Resources
    • Town of Barnstable’s Water Resources Brochure
  • DONATE
Homepage > News > 50,000 oysters to grow in Hyannis tank (7/31/18)

50,000 oysters to grow in Hyannis tank (7/31/18)

July 31, 2018 In News

The Barnstable Patriot
Posted Jul 31, 2018 at 1:28 PM
Updated Aug 1, 2018 at 10:02 AM

50,000 oysters to grow in Hyannis tank

The Massachusetts Oyster Project and Barnstable Clean Water Coalition (BCWC) have partnered on a project to raise 50,000 oysters in a tank located at Gateway Marina in Hyannis.

Water from Hyannis Harbor will be pumped into a tank (known as an upweller), circulated through silos containing the oysters, and released back into the harbor.

In all, 50,000 oyster seed — called spat (measuring approximately 1-5 millimeters in length) — were placed in the Hyannis upweller July 27.

“BCWC is excited to partner with Mass Oyster to educate the public on the many benefits oysters provide to our coastal environments and to restore native oyster populations to Barnstable waters,” said Zenas Crocker, executive director of BCWC.

Oysters make a significant contribution to removing nitrogen, the main culprit for declining water quality on Cape Cod, according to Crocker.

Mass Oyster and BCWC aim to further their knowledge of oysters’ impacts on water quality by collecting samples and data from this system and surrounding waters.

They will utilize the publicly accessible and highly visible site to educate visitors and the public on the social, economic, and environmental benefits provided by oysters.

In the fall, Mass Oyster and BCWC will work alongside the Town of Barnstable to relocate the oysters to appropriate sites where they can continue to filter the water and enhance habitat until they become harvestable size.

According to the BCWC, an upweller is a large box through which seawater continually gets pumped. Inside the box are buckets with spat. The water gets pumped from the harbor on one side, rises through the oysters in the buckets, enters a trough, and flows out of the box. By having water continuously flowing over the seeds, the spat are provided with a constant food source.

The BCWC also pointed out the many benefits of oysters. First and foremost, a single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day. The process removes nutrients — nitrogen and phosphorous — as well as sediments from the water column. Additionally, they serve as a buffer against ocean acidification. Oysters shells will dissolve in water over time and release calcium carbonate, thereby helping to balance the pH of the ocean.

Oysters were donated from Muscongus Bay Aquaculture.

BCWC will be giving weekly public presentations on the tank.

Visit www.BCleanWater.org or www.MassOyster.org for more information.

The Barnstable Patriot – 50,000 oysters to grow in Hyannis tank

News The Barnstable Patriot
Previous StoryWatershed Update Presents Problems While Offering Hope (7/6/18)
Next StoryCoalition Quarterly – Issue 4 (Summer 2018)

Barnstable Clean Water Coalition

  • Email
    info@BCleanWater.org
  • Phone
    508-420-0780
  • Address
    PO BOX 215
    864 Main Street
    Osterville, MA 02655

Recent Posts

  • Newsletter Fall 2022 Winter 2023
    Coalition Quarterly – Special Double Issue – Issue 21 & Issue 22 (Fall 2022 & Winter 2023) Thursday, 22, Dec
  • BCWC Featured on WXTK (12/11/22) Sunday, 11, Dec
  • Thousands of Cape Cod homeowners may need to replace septic systems under new state regulations (11/28/22) Monday, 28, Nov
  • BCWC Summer 2022 Newsletter
    Coalition Quarterly – Issue 20 (Summer 2022) Tuesday, 25, Oct
  • Nitrogen Reclassification Will Put Emphasis On Innovative Systems (8/31/22) Wednesday, 31, Aug

Popular Posts

  • Coalition Quarterly – Issue 15 (Spring 2021) posted 2 years ago
  • Coalition Quarterly – Issue 17 (Fall 2021) posted 1 year ago
  • Neighbors Take Action to Save Their Ponds posted 2 years ago
  • Resources for Upcoming Citizen Forums – Town of Barnstable Sewer Assessment Ordinance Presentation posted 2 years ago
  • Welcome to the Living Laboratory: Come Learn with Us posted 3 years ago

Blog Post Tags

Algae BCWC Projects Books Cape & Plymouth Business Media Cape Cod Groundwater Guardians Cape Cod Online Cape Cod Times Cape Cod Today Cape Media News Cape News Clean Water Mondays Clean Water Wednesdays Coalition Quarterly Cranberry Bogs Design With Nature DNSI EPA Harmful Algal Blooms I/A Septic System Technology MA Oyster Project Mashpee Enterprise Massachusetts Oyster Project MASSTC Michael Egan's Editorials News Newsletter New York Times One Drop Leads to Another PFAS Press Release Sea Level Rise Septic Systems South Coast Today The Barnstable Patriot The Boston Globe The Enterprise Bourne The Falmouth Enterprise The Inquirer and Mirror The Martha's Vineyard Times The Standard Times Three Bays Preservation Newsletter Washington Post Watershed Action Alliance WBUR Wicked Local

Archives

  • DONATE
  • VOLUNTEER
  • SIGN UP FOR OUR EMAILS

Three Bays Preservation, Inc. dba Barnstable Clean Water Coalition is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. Federal Tax ID#:  04-3338308.

Copyright ©2019 Barnstable Clean Water Coalition, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy | Terms | Sitemap | Site Produced by Coastal Mountain Creative