Oyster Farm Proposed For 1600 Feet Off Malibu Pier
Written by 991KBU on December 13, 2019
An offshore oyster farm is being proposed for the ocean just a quarter mile off the Malibu Pier.
Two men have formed the Malibu Oyster Company and have applied to the state to lease 100 acres of ocean bottom … some 16 hundred feet off the end of the Malibu Pier.
There would be floating sacks filled with oysters … and floating racks to grow seaweed.
Each individual oyster filters up to 50 gallons of water a day … removing organic and inorganic particles from the water
The entrepreneurs say this is particularly helpful in an area with urban and farm runoff, like Malibu, where excess nitrogen seeps into the ocean from river runoff. Oysters help a denitrogenation process of the water supply, helping to limit harmful algal blooms.
Oysters and kelp form a distinct symbiotic relationship that helps to reduce ocean acidification.
And the entrepreneurs say the off-bottom methods employed should help create a new habitat where none existed before – turning a bare spot in the ocean into an offshore oasis.
The proposal is just going into the environmental impact study phase … a decision will be made by the California Fish and Game Commission .. probably in a couple of years.
