Oysters — North America

“A new report authored by Nature Conservancy scientists and partners has found that shellfish reefs worldwide have declined dramatically—including the loss of 85 percent of oyster reefs globally. ‘What we're seeing is an unprecedented and alarming decline in the condition of oyster reefs, which are a critically important habitat in the world's bays and estuaries,”' says Mike Beck, senior marine scientist at The Nature Conservancy and a lead author of the report. And there's more at stake here than just fried clams. Shellfish are the ecosystem engineers of bays and estuaries and provide essential services to humans and nature, such as water filtration and coastline buffering.”