Wild oysters were spotted along the Hunts Point Peninsula in the Bronx River. The oysters were first spotted during a public paddle with the Bronx River Alliance.

"We just happened to see them by coincidence and we're very surprised," said Christian Murphy, the ecology and education manager for the Bronx River Alliance.

Murphy says these oysters may be the offspring from the man-made Soundview Oyster Reef that was created by the Billion Oyster Project in 2020 - or they may have arrived naturally from nearby oyster populations.

"By finding wild oysters on the shoreline, we are getting the sense that the oyster reef is actually doing what it's supposed to be doing and receding, so it's a good thing," said Murphy.

Oysters are filter feeders, meaning they remove harmful pollutants from the water, while also protecting the shoreline from dangerous storms like hurricanes and nor'easters.

"People who don't want their basements flooded, people who don't want polluted water, the oysters will help us accomplish that," said Murphy.

The filter feeders were once native to New York City Harbors, but Murphy says development and heavy pollution in the waterways changed that.

"Scientists believe that at one point, half of all the world's oysters were actually found. And waterways around New York City, it was a major part of the economy, the early economy of the city. We lost almost all our oysters; we went from the oyster capital of the world to no oysters at all," said Murphy.

The Billion Oyster Project along with New York City Parks and other organizations have been working to restore the oyster population back to its natural habitat by 2035.

"One of the things we are looking at here in addition to the oysters, is what other community members are moving into this reef, are we seeing different species of fish, are we seeing different species of invertebrates, and what can that tell us about the health of this over all ecosystem," said Murphy.