Oysters Point to a Healthier Waterfront in the Bronx
Environmental improvement projects are paying off, bringing long-absent species back to cleaner waters.
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Not long ago, industrial pollution along the Bronx shoreline meant you’d be hard-pressed to find aquatic species such as oysters, mussels, and fiddler crabs in the ecosystem. But environmental cleanup operations run by a number of community organizations are finally paying off in waters clean enough to support new communities of all three. Projects include marsh restoration, restoring an oyster reef, and the installation of a fish ladder for alewife herring–all steps on the way to a rehabilitated urban ecosystem.