Oysters filter water. They have a remarkable ability to filter nitrogen pollution from water as they eat. Research conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) found water to be clearer and healthier in areas with restored oyster reefs that contained high oyster density. This capacity is being adopted by projects worldwide for the general restoration of natural habitats or to improve water quality, like in Chesapeake Bay Program or Florida Oyster Cultch Placement Project. The best known of these projects is the billion oyster project in New York with the declared goal of having one billion living oysters in New York waters by 2035. By mid-2019, more than 28 million oysters were distributed.
