Oysters are a hot topic these days.  Common to our waters since pre-history, oysters are getting a lot of new attention from folks like you who care about clean water and where their food comes from.   An adult oyster can clean gallons of water a day in nature, and when cultured, provides a local, highly-sustainable food source.  Today, The Nature Conservancy, The University of New Hampshire, and NH oyster farmers are all working toward a common vision of restoring oyster populations to a level that can make a meaningful contribution to water quality and the local economy.  Ray Konisky from The Nature Conservancy and Ray Grizzle from The University of New Hampshire will have a conversation about the progress, goals, and challenges ahead for New Hampshire's oyster revival.

Ray Konisky is the director of marine science for the New Hampshire chapter of The Nature Conservancy. He has a Ph.D. from the University of New Hampshire in environmental science and an MBA from Boston University. His work is focused on estuarine ecology and services, especially restoration of salt marsh, fish habitat, eelgrass beds, and shellfish reefs.         

 

 

 

Ray Grizzle is a research professor in the department of biological sciences at UNH, as well as a co-owner of an oyster farm. He has a Ph.D. in ecology from Rutgers University and has been at UNH since 1999. His research encompasses a variety of topics dealing with seafloor ecology, and most recently has been focused on oyster ecology and restoration of natural reefs.

The Science Caf� is sponsored by NH EPSCoR, the University of New Hampshire and the Portsmouth Brewery.