{"id":110906,"date":"2020-02-10T16:00:01","date_gmt":"2020-02-11T02:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=110906"},"modified":"2020-02-10T16:00:01","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T02:00:01","slug":"oysters-improve-maui-water-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/02\/10\/oysters-improve-maui-water-quality\/","title":{"rendered":"Oysters improving water quality on Maui come from UH<\/abbr> Hilo aquaculture center"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"oysters\"
Mature Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas<\/em>). (Photo credit: Stefan Nehring)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oysters raised at the Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center<\/a> (PACRC<\/abbr>) at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo<\/a> are being used to improve ocean water quality in Māʻalaea<\/span> Harbor on Maui. The project is headed by Maui Nui Marine Resource Council<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Oysters are nature\u2019s most efficient water filters; they eat by pumping large volumes of water through their bodies and in the process, they capture sediment and pollutants from the water column,” said Amy Hodges, programs manager at Maui Nui Marine Resource Council. “Our goal is to use the oyster\u2019s natural filter feeding abilities to make Māʻalaea<\/span> Bay cleaner and healthier for fishing, swimming, paddling and surfing.”<\/p>\n

Maui Nui Marine Resource Council is conducting this project in partnership with Oʻahu<\/span> Waterkeepers<\/a>, a neighbor island nonprofit.<\/p>\n

\"oyster
System for raising native Hawaiian oysters, PACRC<\/abbr>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first oyster project of this type in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> was launched to restore native oysters to actively improve water quality and clarity at locations around the island of Oʻahu<\/span>.<\/p>\n

More than 10,000 oysters produced at the UH<\/abbr> Hilo aquaculture center have been out-planted at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam<\/a>, the Marine Corps Base at Kāneʻohe<\/span> Bay, the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Yacht Club and the Waikiki Yacht Club in the Ala Wai Harbor, and most recently at Honolulu Community College\u2019s Marine Education and Training Center at Sand Island<\/a>.<\/p>\n