In many places where oysters once thrived, baby oysters are missing something that they need in order to grow: the shells of their ancestors.

Lots of people have told me that they aren’t sure what to make of aquaculture. Having heard that some kinds of fish farming are deleterious to the environment, some people assume that all farming of fish and shellfish is bad (not true), while others assume that all of it is good because they think that it takes pressure off of wild populations (not always true).  Here’s the real situation: if aquaculture had a Facebook relationship status it would read “It’s complicated.”