Biologists discover stunning turnaround in one of US' most critical oyster populations: 'We've seen a rebound'
A vibrant oyster population is essential to water cleanliness and aquatic biodiversity. As one of nature's best natural filtration systems that remove sediments and pollutants, they filter as much as two gallons of water hourly. Their healthy reefs are also habitats for other species like striped blennies, American eels, skilletfish, and blue crabs, per Ocean Find Your Blue.
However, overharvesting, disease, and environmental factors like drought and habitat decline have affected these aquatic species for decades. The rebound is a result of better ecological conditions and conservation work from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Maryland for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Based on their research, conditions have allowed for more successful reproduction or "epic, generational spat sets," as Lynn Waller Fegley, Maryland Department of Natural Resources' director of fishing and boating services, told the Washington Post.
Those spats, which refer to larvae that attach to hard surfaces as they develop into mature oysters, have not only increased in number but also in distribution through the bay.
Maryland isn't the only DMV state to see thriving oysters again since Virginia's conservation effort allowed it to harvest one of the highest bushel amounts since the late 1980s — 700,000 of them.
Reliable oyster harvesting affects local livelihoods, which is why the past unstable population caused some to leave the business due to fluctuations that made profits impossible.
A 2020 report from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation stated that Maryland received about $9 million annually from oyster operations. In Virginia, one of the nation's top oyster producers, the state's economy gets $1.1 billion from seafood, and oysters are a major part of that, according to Virginia Tech.
"In the last five years, we've seen a rebound," Allison Colden, executive director of Maryland for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, told the Washington Post.
Other areas are also thriving with aquatic conservation — Cabo Pulmo in Mexico is seeing rebounding coral reefs, and an emergency hand-feeding program to help Florida manatees has been suspended as their food source, seagrass, has revived.
Do you think America is in a housing crisis?
Definitely
Not sure
No way
Only in some cities
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
Clean water that supports aquatic life and industry isn't something to take for granted. If these revivals remain steady, it marks progress toward a cleaner and safer planet for all.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
IRS considers eliminating ability to file your taxes in language other than English
The Trump administration is reportedly considering eliminating language services at the Internal Revenue Service, a move that would make it significantly more difficult for non-English speaking individuals to file their taxes. The report comes from two individuals familiar with the plans who spoke to The Washington Post. The individuals said that the IRS is currently considering how it could comply with President Donald Trump's executive order declaring English the U.S.'s official language. The validity of that order has been questioned by some legal scholars. 'Establishing English as the official language will not only streamline communication but also reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society,' Trump's order says. On July 14, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo to federal agencies directing them on how to implement Trump's executive order. The memo requires officials to produce department-wide plans to "phase out unnecessary multilingual offerings" and to "consider redirecting these funds towards research and programs that would expedite English-language acquisition and increase English-language proficiency and assimilation." 'A shared language binds Americans together, transcending different backgrounds to create a common foundation for public discourse, government operations, and civic life, while leaving ample room for the vibrant linguistic diversity that thrives in private and community spheres,' Bondi wrote in the memo. Despite Trump's executive order, the U.S. has no standing law establishing English as the national language. Responding to Bondi's memo, the U.S. Treasury Department — which oversees the IRS — wrote in email responses on Sunday that the IRS would have to reevaluate its "commitment to assist non-English speaking taxpayers understand their tax obligations." The agency currently has a policy in place requiring it to serve "those who lack a full command of the English language." The Treasury also noted it would have to decide if it would keep all of its translations for more than 100 financial forms in Spanish and other languages, as well as free phone and in-person translation services. The IRS also maintains a multilingual website and Spanish-language social media accounts and programs. The move comes at a time when some non-English speaking taxpayers are fearful that the IRS may cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in its ongoing efforts to find undocumented immigrants and deport them. That fear has reportedly led to severe drops in tax compliance among immigrant communities in some parts of the country. The IRS has already renewed its contract for phone interpreter services, according to two people familiar with the issue who spoke to The Washington Post. That contract was deemed necessary by senior IRS and Treasury Department officials after DOGE demanded it review all of its contacts. The interpreter service contract was only extended for a few months and will expire before the end of the year.
USA Today
4 days ago
- USA Today
Tim Cook appeals to Trump's love of gold with a 24-karat base for Apple plaque
Apple CEO Tim Cook visited President Donald Trump at the White House on Aug. 6, and brought with him a custom gift that seemed to be tailored to the president's tastes. The two announced Apple's $100 billion in new U.S. investment, an addition to the $500 billion previously announced, as the tech giant tries to protect its products from Trump's steep tariffs. Apple is also set to expand its factories in the U.S. With trembling hands, Cook opened an Apple box he said was made in California, took out a circular plaque with an Apple-shaped cutout in the middle made of glass apparently made in Kentucky, and attributed the design to a former U.S. Marine Corps corporal who now works at Apple. The plaque was set in a 24-karat gold base Cook said was made in Utah. Part of Trump's longstanding "America First" approach to policy is pushing to have more goods made in America. Though Trump has also been gifted a Tesla Cybertruck with a picture of himself on it and a framed copy of his grandfather's German birth certificate, Cook's gift appealed to more than just Trump's preference to have things made in America. Trump adorns his space and the things he makes in gold. More: Donald Trump's White House 'Gold Guy' is a 70-year-old cabinetmaker who lives in Jupiter Gold tweezers, gold sneakers and a gold guy in the White House Trump's affinity for gold predates his time in the Oval Office. Here is a look at some of his golden adornments throughout the years: Apple touts additional $100 billion in U.S. investment Cook was one of several tech leaders who attended Trump's inauguration earlier this year. Apple had said in February that it would spend $500 billion in U.S. investments over four years, but the Washington Post reported most of that would cover the regular cost of doing business. The White House announcement brings the total investment figure up to $600 billion. Still, Apple broke ground on a Houston factory to make advanced AI servers earlier this year, and Trump said on Aug. 6 it would invest billions to construct data centers across the country, including in North Carolina, Iowa and Oregon. "I'm proud to say that Apple is leading the creation of an end-to-end silicon supply chain right here in America," Cook said. Trump said the planned 100% tariff on semiconductors and computer chips would not apply to companies that make a commitment to manufacture in the U.S., like Apple. Contributing: Joey Garrison, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Aysha Bagchi, Lauren Villagran, Marina Pitofsky, Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@ Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
WaPo publisher asked fact-checker what they should do ‘to appeal more to Fox News viewers'
Days after joining the exodus from the Washington Post by accepting the paper's buyout offer to journalists who didn't want to take part in its 'reinvention journey,' Glenn Kessler revealed that the Post's publisher once asked him what they should 'do to appeal more to Fox News viewers.' Kessler, who spent nearly three decades with the Washington Post and was the publication's fact-checker since 2011, took to Substack on Wednesday to explain why he decided to leave the paper. And like many of the veteran columnists and reporters who have ditched the Post recently, he pointed to the shifting editorial policies implemented by billionaire owner Jeff Bezos and the paper's beleaguered CEO and publisher, Will Lewis. 'But now, working at The Post feels like being on the Titanic after it struck an iceberg — drifting aimlessly as it sank, with not enough lifeboats for everyone,' Kessler wrote. 'The Carpathia (i.e., Bezos) appears too far away and too distracted to help. And the captain is shouting commands that the solution is a different ship.' Beginning with Bezos' decision to block the editorial board's presidential endorsement of Kamala Harris, the newspaper has been bleeding talent (and losing subscriptions) for months. It only grew worse in February when the owner – who had been currying favor with Donald Trump since before the election – mandated that the opinion section pivot to defending personal liberties and the free market. That move to make the opinion section libertarian if not outright conservative, which Trump himself celebrated, resulted in the editorial page's top editor announcing his resignation. Other columnists would soon follow, citing the 'significant shift' in the opinion section's mission while accusing the paper of killing their attempts to write about the directive. Bezos and Lewis would eventually bring on Economist correspondent Adam O'Neal to helm the opinion page, who introduced himself to staffers with a somewhat cringe-inducing video and pledged to make the section 'unapologetically patriotic' and optimistic 'about the future of this country.' At the same time, the paper started offering a 'voluntary separation program' to opinion employees. This was followed by another buyout offer to news staffers with over a decade of service, along with those on the video and copy desks. Lewis, however, seemed to open the floodgates last month when he sent out a memo describing the transformation of the paper's opinion pages as a 'reinvention journey' for the organization as a whole. Saying that 'those who do not feel aligned' with that plan 'should reflect on that,' Lewis essentially gave his staff an ultimatum. And many of them answered by taking the buyout, including Kessler. In his Substack post, Kessler reflected on a meeting he had with Lewis shortly after Bezos had made him the publisher of the Post last year. During the April 2024 sitdown, in which Kessler was looking to pitch his idea about the paper bringing back an ombudsman, he claimed that Lewis had other things on his mind. 'During our discussion, he asked me: 'What should The Post do to appeal more to Fox News viewers?'' Kessler noted, adding that Lewis continued to circle back to the topic. 'I used to cover diplomacy so I knew how to keep a poker face even as the hair on the back of my neck prickled. 'We have to remain true to our journalistic principles,' I said. 'We have to tell the truth.' I paused, and added, 'They may not like that, because it would conflict with what they've been hearing.'' Kessler stated. 'I'm not sure he appreciated that answer, because he asked me the same question two more times,' he continued. 'Each time, I gave the same response, though I added that exclusive, compelling articles were the best way to attract readers.' Kessler pointed out that they never did discuss his proposal to bring back an ombudsman, asserting that Lewis instead asked him to send a follow-up email. 'I wasn't sure what was odder — the Fox News questions or the fact that the publisher could spend an hour just shooting the breeze with a reporter,' Kessler observed. 'Shouldn't he be busy?' In the end, Kessler stated, Lewis would become largely an absentee newsroom leader after he came under renewed fire for his actions leading the British tabloids owned by Rupert Murdoch, the Fox News founder. After pushing out executive editor Sally Buzbee, Lewis attempted to replace her with his friend Robert Winnett, who withdrew following his own controversy. Lewis, meanwhile, would essentially go into hiding at that point while also delivering an edict that the Post would no longer cover itself – which came on the heels of the paper's reporters investigating the allegations that he helped cover up Murdoch's phone-hacking scandal in the UK. Kessler noted that a second meeting with Lewis never happened. 'Still, the question about Fox News gnawed at me. I admire many Fox News reporters, but the network's main impact comes from its opinionated, late-night conservative hosts who wholeheartedly support Republicans,' he added. 'The implication was that The Post website might need to lean right. I told my two immediate editors about my conversation with Lewis; they have since left The Post.' Kessler also stated that when he decided to take the voluntary buyout, he told executive editor Matt Murray he'd be willing to stick around for two months to help keep The Fact Checker afloat until a new author took over. However, his proposal was apparently met with deaf ears. 'To me, the episode demonstrated that there is no vision, no game plan, and no commitment to build on existing traffic,' Kessler wrote. 'Instead, the buyouts have removed some of The Post's biggest traffic generators — and I don't see a strategy to replace what has been lost. Lewis invested time and resources in creating what he called 'a third newsroom' — his one big idea — but the effort was abruptly dropped last month, and the manager who had led it also took the buyout.' He also insisted that the exodus would have been greater if it weren't for simple economics. 'I do not know a single person who left The Post because they did not embrace the organization's 'reinvention' as it was a chimera,' Kessler said. 'Many more Post veterans would have taken the buyout if they could — but they couldn't line up an equivalent job fast enough, or they were in that uncomfortable age zone of 56 to 64, where Medicare is not available and a potential employer might conclude you don't have many productive years left.'
