"If They Build It, Will The Oysters Come?"

"COPANO BAY, Tex. — The orange buoys placed along the perimeter of an underwater construction site here keep disappearing, leaving behind a rust-stained barge with a massive pile of broken limestone. The barge carried it down the Mississippi River, to be dumped a mile off the Texas coast.

Soon, baby oysters will attach to the rocks’ rough surfaces and start to grow.

The ambitious project aims to restore an oyster reef nearly wiped out by hurricanes, drought and overfishing. When the artificial reef is completed in June, half will be open to harvesting and the other half protected to give the species a long-term chance to rebound."

Brittney Martin reports for the Washington Post May 25, 2019.