牡蛎又回到纽约大南湾

Oysters² Return to New York’s Great South Bay 牡蛎又回到纽约大南湾

The Blue Point oyster¹ is returning to the Great South Bay of New York after almost disappearing from the world marketplace. Over-farming, pollution and Hurricane Sandy had severely³ damaged the Blue Point oyster business. Now, the population is growing in its home on the coast of Long Island, about 100 kilometers from New York City.

When the huge ocean storm called Sandy hit Long Island in 2013 it destroyed the Blue Point oyster beds. John Cochrane is a councilman in the Town of Islip.

“There was 15-foot [4.5 meter] seas hitting those beds. It took all the oysterman’s gear and oysters and ripped half of them away from their anchoring and the other half got slammed into the bay bottom and got destroyed.”

John Cochrane pushed through a legislative⁴ measure to lease 1,200 hectares of the Great South Bay to shellfish businesses. Twenty-three local fishermen, including the Cochrane family, have signed up so far.

“We have plots on this Bay that were actually leased out by King George, and families still have the charter in Brookhaven from King George.”

The Great Atlantic Shellfish Farms company will be a major part of regrowing the oyster population in the Great South Bay. Marty Byrnes is an aquaculturist with the company. He is responsible for getting adult oysters to spawn⁵ - lay eggs and produce the larvae⁶ that turn into millions of oysters.

“Inside here is where all the larvae go after they have been spawned⁷. The eggs and sperm⁸ have mated and you actually have larvae swimming around here.”

Marty Byrnes grows the plant food of oysters, algae⁹, in large tanks filled with salt water. The larvae absorb their algae diet for about two and a half weeks. Then, baby oysters appear.

“It looks like a grain of sand right now. It’s amazing, nature.”

After six weeks, millions upon millions of these little oysters are taken to farms in the bay. They are placed in wire boxes to grow to harvesting size. In 18 months, these oysters will be ready for market.

Doug Winter is president of Great Atlantic. He says the oyster business has come a long way from the bay bottom harvesting of the 1800s.

“With technology and advancements¹⁰ and the Internet and people really being environmentally conscious, there’s a big push for aquaculture. You can produce a lot more oysters, you can do it environmentally friendly, you can create reefs and clean estuaries¹¹, waterways, you can repopulate areas that are depleted¹² and you can control your crop.”

The Blue Point is back. And the oysters are not just good to eat. They are also good to the water. Each oyster can filter more than 150 liters of water a day, removing algae, nitrogen, and other pollutants¹³.

Words in This Story

bed – n. the ground that is at the bottom of a sea, lake, etc.

lease – v. to rent out a place in return for money

plot – n. an area of land that has been measured and is considered as a unit

spawn – v. to produce or lay eggs in water

larvae –n. a very young form of life

aquaculture – n. the rearing of water animals or the cultivation¹⁴ of water plants for food

estuary¹⁵ – n. an area where a river flows into the sea

1 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

2 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。

3 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

4 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

5 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。

6 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。

7 spawned   

（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产

参考例句：

• The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
• The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。

8 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

9 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

10 advancements   

n.（级别的）晋升( advancement的名词复数 )；前进；进展；促进

参考例句：

• Today, the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements. 当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Great advancements in drought prediction have been made in recent years. 近年来，人们对干旱灾害的预报研究取得了长足的进步。 来自互联网

11 estuaries   

（江河入海的）河口，河口湾( estuary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We also recognize the diversity and complexity of controlling in fluences in estuaries. 我们也认识到在河湾内控制影响的多样性和复杂性。
• Estuaries also contribute to economy through tourism and fishing. 河口还为人类提供了休闲和教育的场所。

12 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

13 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

14 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

15 estuary   

n.河口，江口

参考例句：

• We live near the Thames estuary.我们的住处靠近泰晤士河入海口。
• The ship has touched bottom.The estuary must be shallower than we thought.船搁浅了。这河口的水比我们想像的要浅。