At the time of first European contact, the waters around NYC are estimated to have contained half of the world’s oysters! These oysters lived in approximately 300 square miles of oyster beds. New York City oysters grew up to one foot in length.
These oysters were able to filter the water to maintain a healthy marine ecosystem. Oysters were also vital to NYC as a food source and commercial industry.
The oysters were lost to over-harvesting, pollution, and filling-in of the oyster beds for construction, but water quality improvement has given us the opportunity to bring the oysters back to NYC!
Creation of artificial reefs and introduction of oysters onto these reefs is needed because the original oyster bed habitats have been lost.
In collaboration with the NY/NJ Baykeeper, fellow artists Colleen Flannigan, my mom and I created an installation at Brooklyn Bridge Park which portrayed reef building in NYC and around the world.
LARISSA SIMPSON ART 