Oysters, like most other seafood,
are now an industry in Maine
and a rapidly growing one.
In fact, the State Department of
Marine Resources says last year's
harvest was the biggest ever
right now. There are more than
100 oyster farms dotting our
coastline as part of our series
on Maine's changing climate,
David Gilford shows us how one of
those companies believes oysters
are vital to saving our planet.
There are more than 180 aquaculture
sites licensed by the state of Maine
prison uniform. Nice looking shells.
The vast majority produce shellfish.
It's generally a really good
feeling at the end of the day.
One operation is looking
far beyond the dinner table.
In a warehouse on one of
Harpswell's peninsulas,
Carl is Schultz carefully preserves
millions of fragile animals.
It's always amazing to us at
the end of the year and we go,
we just did all this or you have a package
in your hand that you've packed up.
And it's 3,000,000 oysters.
And it's just like this big. Here
shellfish are hatched, fed and tended to.
These things that look like grains of
sand are actually young surf clamps.
See how well they're growing just in these.
Ideally we want to see that Nice Bell
curve. Jessica Giles is one of
100 employees of Running Tide,
a main based startup,
specializing in kelp and shellfish.
To some, this part is
shellfish farming one-on-one.
We're just moving it on to the
next folks to take care of it. But
had just offshore you've
ever shopped an oyster.
Just go down or scoop the wrong way or
scooped up really hard to get in there.
Adam Basque is running tides,
head of shellfish and restoration.
He brought us to what looks
like a massive homemade pontoon
boat that's part shellfish.
Farm parts secret laboratory.
If bask has his way,
this is the first step toward cleaning
our oceans and thus our planet.
Thousands of scientists are saying clearly,
not only do we need to reduce emissions,
we actually need to remove a lot of
this excess carbon that's in the sky.
I mean, we're talking hundreds of gigatons.
It's hard to imagine gigatons
that's billions of tons of carbon.
That's up in the sky that needs
to be permanently removed.
And why are shellfish the stars here?
Oysters are amazing species, they are.
Filter feeders, which means they eat
by processing large amounts of water
through their body, and as they do
this they actually purify the water
Carissa Moran, with the Gulf
of Maine Research Institute,
explained that adult oysters
and other shellfish can filter
50 gallons of water a day.
In the process, they remove algae,
plankton, nitrogen and many particles.
We dump in the ocean and they
pack them neatly on the bottom,
and the trick is how can you grow them
in less area and in greater numbers.
And that's what we're attempting to do.
Here and not only that,
but then to put data along with that the
scientists and engineers on the work
vessel use cutting edge technology.
This yellow buoy collects precise data
on what's in the water below and feeds
it to the onboard computer system,
which also controls the machinery
that moves the baskets of oysters.
And as we progress through the season,
more of those steps get linked
together and become one you know,
hit go and and off and off it goes.
They also use some brilliant
backyard engineering for
all our access. We weren't allowed to
show certain parts of the operation
on camera as they're still developing
systems they say are one-of-a-kind.
Now over the course of about two years,
these these guys will will be market size,
Ford's efforts running tide has
attracted millions in venture capital
investments companies either interested
in climate efforts or those buying carbon
credits to offset their own emissions,
bask and the rest of running tides.
Leadership aimed to create patented
systems that companies even countries
can use to fight threats to ocean
ecosystems around the world and
pay running tide to do so. We're
building the system to tap it, tap into
those markets when we they do exist,
and we think that they're on their way.
In Middle Bay David Gilford,
New Center, Maine.
While its ocean filtration
operation is still being developed,
running tide is selling some of its
adult oysters to local restaurants
using the sales as both an influx
of cash as well as proof that the
company's shellfish farming is viable.