Robin..UR Q & A to Natural based Oyster Mats

Natural Based Oyster Mats
Questions and Answers to concerns

Angela BoneyApril 1, 2015 at 2:51 PM

I've been reading different articles on the "concrete being natural" situation, and some state that some concrete does have chemical additives. Quikrete lists in the ingredients of on of its products "and other ingredients approved for use in concrete". According to the following article "cement has constituents that...have corrosive effects" and thus should be "treated as hazardous materials" (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15068132). This of course pertains to people handling the concrete and may not affect the oysters, but it could be a source of future error to consider since you can't test your product over a long time span. So should someone ask after your next presentation about potential ill effects of concrete, I wouldn't generalize that it is ok cause it is made of natural substances, but address potential issues that you weren't able to test in this short time period.

Angela Boney,

First let me say it was good to see, so I could thank you for taking me to a higher level of matters in my project, second I would like to write some of those things we talked about, so that others who have similar concerns may have some insight.

Concerns of ill effects, yes concrete over long term exposure or skin irritation “can” cause dermatitis which is a skin allergic reaction, it is recommended that glove be worn when mixing the concrete of any kind. It is also recommended to wear gloves when handling the oysters due to splinters which can cause the same skin irritations.

Long term use and Corrosive material: I have not personally been able to deploy my oyster Mats “Yet” because I have to wait for the season of the Oysters to spat, or do their thing, But I have read many articles over the years where they have used recycled concrete from bridges and water mains for a long time on restorations of coral reefs and those all have been positive feed-back.

Sincerely Hope you stay in touch, and thank you again, we will miss you and congratulations on the move.

Robin

What are currently the biggest threats posed to existing oyster beds? What is the biggest obstacle to synthetic oyster beds?

~Bethany Cobb, Sec. 1

Bethany Cobb,

 Very good question, one which I will have to do some digging into of research on this matter to be specific, but for the most part pollution/construction (oil spills) and over fishing or harvesting of oysters are the biggest threats.

Obstacles of Synthetic Oyster Beds: Testing and researching, so I would have to say “time and money”. Oysters  are seasonal as are most cycles of life are and therefore it gives people time to prepare and test the artificial mats, but in the same respect  research on what is actually better or as close to natural as possible takes time too. Trial and error and never giving up!

Robin