Return of oysters key to bringing back bay Laws and regulations have been passed. People have been warned and fined. Even some long-standing practices have been reconsidered. All of those things were important steps in trying to restore the ecosystems in estuaries from the Shrewsbury River to the Hudson River. And last weekend, in a collaboration between the New York/New Jersey Baykeeper and the National Marine Fisheries Service’s community-based restoration program, another step was taken. The two groups are leading an effort to re-establish the oyster population in area waterways, which should have positive effects across the spectrum for water-related activities. Most important, re-establishing the oyster beds will help restore the ecological balance of the estuaries. There was a time when oysters played a huge role in keeping those ecosystems healthy, but after years of people over-harvesting, polluting and otherwise misusing the resource, the estuary was seriously damaged. Fortunately, nature has proved more resilient than we ever had a right to expect, and we now have a chance to correct the problems we have created. Perhaps not surprisingly, we have found that the way to do that is by working with nature rather than against it. Returning Raritan Bay and our rivers to a healthy state will not happen overnight, but it can happen. Re-establishing the oyster population is a major step on that journey. First, it means that those estuaries are healthy enough to support the oysters. And, in turn, those oysters, which can filter more than 50 gallons of water on a summer day, will help make the estuaries cleaner. Who knows, maybe someday the water of Raritan Bay will be clean enough to support oysters that will be safe enough to eat.