New York Harbor was once packed with oysters. But by the early 1900s, pollution and overfishing nearly wiped out the shellfish. Now scientists have a strange plan to help them: an oyster bed made out of old toilets.
New York City officials crushed 5,000 porcelain toilets from public schools. Then the pieces were thrown into the harbor. This created a bed on the seafloor. Oysters need hard surfaces to attach to so they can grow. Previously, oysters would attach themselves to the shells of other oysters. But when their numbers dropped, this was no longer an option.