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Study Shows Restored Oyster Reefs Could Add $12 Trillion to Global Health
Confirmed
In Short: Researchers published a study in Frontiers in Marine Science indicating that restored oyster reefs could add $12 trillion annually to global health and economic benefits.
Matteo Convertino and Yuhan Wu, based in Shenzhen, China, used public databases to identify suitable habitats for oyster reefs and estimated their ecological and monetary value.
The study identified nine hotspot countries with high ecopotential for oyster reefs: China, Australia, Chile, Japan, South Korea, Argentina, France, Germany, and Italy.
Oyster reefs are currently found in only 10% of the roughly 114,000 square miles deemed suitable habitat, according to the researchers.
Convertino noted that global warming is expected to decrease the habitat quality of oyster reefs, potentially reducing their global Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) from the current potential value of $12 trillion.
The researchers quantified the combined output of oyster reefs as “Gross Ecosystem Product” or “ecopotential,” which includes benefits such as nitrogen removal, carbon capture, and water purification.
In the United States, fully restored reefs could provide an annual GEP of over $25 billion.
Convertino also suggested that some countries, like Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, and France, may see an expansion of reefs due to more favorable conditions.
However, local restoration efforts cannot succeed in isolation, emphasizing the need for international cooperation.
Meanwhile, at a GOP midterm convention, Trump and Vice President JD Vance addressed the crowd, focusing on domestic politics and party unity.
Vance criticized Democrats, saying they have evolved into a group that stands against America, and urged voters to recognize the contrast with radicals.
Trump concluded his speech with a plea to vote, turning the microphone over to an opera performer who sang 'America the Beautiful' as balloons fell.
What's confirmed
- Matteo Convertino and Yuhan Wu, based in Shenzhen, China, used public databases to identify suitable habitats for oyster reefs and estimated their ecological and monetary value.
- The study identified nine hotspot countries with high ecopotential for oyster reefs: China, Australia, Chile, Japan, South Korea, Argentina, France, Germany, and Italy.
- Oyster reefs are currently found in only 10% of the roughly 114,000 square miles deemed suitable habitat, according to the researchers.
- Convertino noted that global warming is expected to decrease the habitat quality of oyster reefs, potentially reducing their global Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) from the current potential value of $12 trillion.
- The researchers quantified the combined output of oyster reefs as “Gross Ecosystem Product” or “ecopotential,” which includes benefits such as nitrogen removal, carbon capture, and water purification.
- In the United States, fully restored reefs could provide an annual GEP of over $25 billion.
- Convertino also suggested that some countries, like Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, and France, may see an expansion of reefs due to more favorable conditions.
- However, local restoration efforts cannot succeed in isolation, emphasizing the need for international cooperation.
- Meanwhile, at a GOP midterm convention, Trump and Vice President JD Vance addressed the crowd, focusing on domestic politics and party unity.
- Vance criticized Democrats, saying they have evolved into a group that stands against America, and urged voters to recognize the contrast with radicals.
- Trump concluded his speech with a plea to vote, turning the microphone over to an opera performer who sang 'America the Beautiful' as balloons fell.
What's still developing
- But authors of a study published Tuesday in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science believe that humans, not just sea critters, stand to gain highly from oyster reef restoration.
- “In other words, the current oyster situation is very suboptimal but there is a huge opportunity, considering the benefits,” he said.
- (CN) — Within the last hundred years, human-caused pollution, overharvesting and climate change have resulted in over 80% of the world’s oyster reefs being degraded or destroyed.
- Also known as oyster beds or oyster banks, these large colonies of amassed mollusks formed on rocks or other hard surfaces attract fish, birds, crustaceans and marine flora — much like coral reefs.
- Investing in oyster banks could provide trillion-dollar payoffs towards both the global seafood industry and scientific efforts to counteract the planet’s warming climate, researchers say.
- Many were walking off with giant balloons and a few people tried to manage the long poles of delegate signs.
- Even the “rich people boxes” were filled, he said.
- “I gotta do a little bit better in the back,” he said.
- “We were a laughingstock all over the world,” Trump said, referring to his predecessor.
- “Don’t give the country over to a bunch of crazy people because you happen to disagree with us on a policy issue here or there. Look, I’m not asking anybody to agree with me on every single issue. I’m not asking anybody to agree on every single policy,” Vance said at the GOP midterm convention.
- Without explicitly mentioning the Iran war, the vice president invoked conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who “hated war,” according to Vance.
- The White House said these plunging prices resulted from Trump’s “most favored nation” drug deal with pharmaceutical firms and the TrumpRx website.