Thursday, February 14, 2013

Oyster Restoration Discussion at the Fletcher School



Fletcher School Of Government

The night before the blizzard hit, Mass Oyster visited the students at The Fletcher School, a graduate school of international affairs at Tufts University.  Student Stefanie Chang organized the event through  Fletcher Green (the environmental club) and The Fletcher Neptunes who is the group that focuses on marine issues.

The event was terrific as Stefanie had oysters on site, gave an oyster shucking lesson and there was broad participation of the 40 people in attendance. They both shucked and consumed with enthusiasm. Yet when the last shell was empty, there was not a nick or a scrape on any one's hands.
oyster restoration supporters at a shcuking lesson at Fletcher School
The oyster chucking lesson

r Student at Tufts enjoying an oyster and supporting oyster restoration
Fletcher student enjoying an oyster with the shell going into the bucket for recycling.. 


The presentation was different from the standard oyster discussion in that it went beyond the standard benefits of oysters in supporting 100 other forms of sea-life and enhancing water quality.

Instead we discussed the policy challenges with oyster restoration in Massachusetts and how the different states on the Easter Seaboard have radically different policies interpreting Federal Laws and working with regulations in different manners. For example, in New York, there is active restoration going on in the polluted waters close to Manhattan.  While on the other side of the Statue of Liberty across Raritan Bay in New Jersey, that State has shut down almost all oyster restoration.

The students asked many insightful questions and made some very help suggestions and ideas.It was a wonderful evening of information and conviviality. 

Happy Fletcher Student after eating first oyster in Mass Oyster Hat
Student in a Vintage Mass Oyster Hat smiles after enjoying an oyster
We also recycled the shells for our shell recycling project which is gaining steam.

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