– There are more Pacific oysters now than ever before. The numbers are extreme, Fredrik Myhre, head of the ocean team at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), told Dagbladet.
Myhre explained that rising sea temperatures are one of the reasons unwanted “guests” are a problem in the country. Now the problem is bigger than before.
– There have never been as many Pacific oysters as there are now, says Myhre.
Sounding the ALARM: Fredrik Myhre, head of the ocean team at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), says Pacific oysters are a bigger problem now than ever before.
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Myhre said the species was released into French waters in the 1960s, and no one at the time thought about the consequences. Oysters live naturally in the northern Pacific Ocean from Japan to the Bering Strait, according to Huge Norwegian encyclopedia.
– First and foremost, it was human stupidity that caused the oysters to scatter, said the marine team leader.
Hit back criticism
Many tons
Troubleshooting is proving difficult. One Pacific oyster can release up to 200 million eggs into the ocean, according to Myhre.
One measure that has proven successful is picking oysters. This was done voluntarily to prevent Pacific oysters from taking over the coast.
– So far this year, we have picked about ten tons of Pacific oysters. When the voluntary period ends, I think the number has doubled, said Kristian Ingdal, Østersdugnaden project manager in the regional municipalities of Vestfold and Telemark.
TONNEVIS: Kristian Ingdal, project manager for Østersdugnaden at the regional councils of Vestfold and Telemark, says they are working hard to get Pacific oysters out of the area. Private photo
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The area has been particularly hard hit by Pacific oysters, they report own website. They have done Østersdugnaden in recent years hoping to reduce the population, but according to Ingdal they can never get rid of intruders.
– Volunteering can be likened to mowing the lawn, taking out the trash and gardening. You need to maintain it for a longer time, he said.
Toughest thing he’s ever done
Broken beach
Hilde Haugen enthusiastically gets involved in the fight against the Pacific oyster. He can signal that it is a big problem.
– Several beaches were almost completely destroyed, almost impossible to use, he said.
IMPORTANT: Hilde Haugen wants more people to help clean beaches and coastal zones of Pacific oysters. Private photo
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Haugen considers it important to commend the work being done to eliminate Pacific oysters, even though he sometimes considers the work futile because of their sheer abundance.
– I have thought about it, but at the same time it will be worse if we do nothing, he said.
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