Farming Oysters to Save the World

Farming oysters may remove carbon from the ocean, according to University of South Australia student James Hickey’s research.

“As the global average temperature increases and CO₂ within the ocean begins to reach saturation the ability of the ocean to absorb carbon will alter significantly,” Mr Hickey said in his paper Carbon Sequestration Potential of Shellfish.

“At some point in the future removing carbon from the ocean may need to be considered.”

According to Port Lincoln Times, this is where oysters come in, as carbon is absorbed naturally from the ocean as the shell of the shellfish grows.

Mr Hickey looked specifically at pacific oysters, those harvested in South Australia, which involved him researching the oysters farmed at Coffin Bay, Ceduna and Smoky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula, and Stansbury on the Yorke Peninsula.