Oyster Geek and Oyster Freak

Troy D. Alphin
Center for Marine Science - UNCW

I'm an oyster geek.  There are few topics that interest me as much as oysters, which is why I was so excited to chat with Troy Alphin, Senior Research Associate at the Center for Marine Science at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington (UNCW).   He's an oyster geek-in-residence and talks about the lowly oyster with whimsy, admiration, passion, and, above all else, respect. With a bachelor's and master's degree in marine biology, Alphin is currently working on his doctorate in marine biology.  His doctoral project is trying to answer the question: What does a happy oyster look like?

"Think about it, if you go to a restaurant or grocery store or even see them in their natural habitat, how do you know they're happy?"

Did I mention that we were talking about the no face, no legs, no arms, no brain oyster? Happiness seems elusive.

He's still researching telltale signs to determine if an oyster is happy, but he is willing to give us some clues.  He calls them "ecosystem engineers" (fancy).  " Once established, they engineer the environment around them."  They attract mussels and oysters, trap nutrients, and filter the water.  They can even, in some regions, such as North Carolina, save us from storm surges.  Panda bears and kitty cats may get more attention, but none of them can do all that.  When the oyster is allowed to do their job, they are happy.

Even super studly, uber happy engineers, though, need a little help from us.

HELP SAVE THE OYSTER BABIES 

Millimeter comparison.
From http://waynesword.palomar.edu

"One of the biggest problems facing oysters today is the oyster larvae," Alphin says.  The oyster larvae is 1/10 of a millimeter.  To understand how small that is, try and touch your thumb and pointer finger as close together as possible without them touching.  Oyster larvae are 1/10 the distance between your thumb and finger.    Oyster larvae survival depends on their ability to connect to an existing structure, usually another oyster shell. However, sediment from runoff settles on the oyster shells.  The sediment is 1/2 mm, five times the size of a larvae, which makes it incredibly difficult for the larvae to find its own spot on a shell.  If the larvae can't find a place to nestle onto the shell, they will die.

That's where we come in.  We all have to do our part to help alleviate storm water runoff.  If you're lucky enough to live on a creek or estuary, make sure to leave the edge of your property in it's natural state.  Minimize or alleviate chemicals both inside your home and out.  And don't discharge anything directly into the water.

DYING YOUNG

Freak of Nature?
Fossilized oyster shell is at least
a foot long and probably
35 million years old.

Even those oysters who find a spot to grow face limited prospects.  We've come to accept that oysters live 4-5 years on the East Coast and grow to about 3-4 inches.  But just 100 years ago, oysters harvested from the waters outside New York were 6-8 inches.  Today, even in protected areas, oysters aren't living long past their cousins in open, harvested waters.  "Why?" he asks.  "There's no programmed death for oysters.  It's got to be the environment.  It's got to be ecological."

Why is it important that oysters live longer?  The longer the oyster lives, the bigger the oyster grows.  The bigger the oyster grows, the more eggs a female can produce.  The more eggs they produce, the more larvae.  The more larvae, the greater number of oysters.

PEARLS OF WISDOM

Because Alphin is both a biologist and oyster eater, I thought he was the perfect person to ask the two most important questions that nag oyster aficiandos:

1. Do you eat raw oysters? 
"You should always cook your oysters," he says.

2. Do you eat (non-triploid) oysters in non-R months?
"Yes, as long as they're cultivated.  And they're cooked."

And that's all he'll say about that.  I, however, remain loyal to raw oysters.  And that's all I'll say about that.

Thanks for working every day to help save the oyster, Troy.