VOA慢速英语: 牡蛎重返大南湾

The Blue Point oyster is returning to the Great South Bay of New York after almost disappearing from the world marketplace. Over-farming, pollution and Hurricane Sandy had severely damaged the Blue Pointoyster business. Now, the population is growing in its home on the coast ofLong Island, about 100 kilometers from New York City.

蓝点牡蛎今日重返纽约大南湾，在此之前，该牡蛎几乎从世界市场消失。过度捕捞，污染以及飓风严重损害牡蛎生意。现在距纽约大概100千米之外的长海岸中牡蛎的数量逐渐增长。

When the huge ocean storm called Sandy hit Long Island in 2013 it destroyedthe Blue Point oyster beds. John Cochrane is a councilman in the Town of Is lip.

2013年，名为“桑迪”的飓风席卷长岛，严重破坏了牡蛎河床。来自Is lip镇的官员表示，

“There was 15-foot [4.5 meter] seas hitting those beds. It took all the oyster man’s gear and oysters and ripped half of them away from their anchoring and the other half got slammed into the bay bottom and got destroyed.”

大约有4.5米的河床被破坏。它席卷了牡蛎，并将一半的牡蛎卷到远处，远离住处，另一半牡蛎冲到海湾底部并毁坏。

John Cochrane pushed through a legislative measure to lease 1,200 hectares of the Great South Bay to shellfish businesses. Twenty-three local fishermen,including the Cochrane family, have signed up so far.

约翰建议采用法律方式租用大南湾1.200公顷水生有壳生物的交易市场。到目前为止，包括科伦克家庭在内的23位渔民签署了协议。

“We have plots on this Bay that were actually leased out by King George, and families still have the charter in Brookhaven from King George.”

对大南湾我们另有规划。实际上我们得乔治国王允许才租赁的，现在有的家里还留有乔治国王颁发的《布鲁克海文》宪章

The Great Atlantic Shellfish Farms company will be a major part of regrowingthe oyster population in the Great South Bay. Marty Byrnes is an aquaculturist with the company. He is responsible for getting adult oysters to spawn - layeggs and produce the larvae that turn into millions of oysters.

大西洋水生有壳工厂将是大南湾牡蛎数量增长的主要来源。马蒂·波恩是该公司的水产养殖专家，负责成年牡蛎产卵，生产数以万计的牡蛎。

“Inside here is where all the larvae go after they have been spawned. The eggs and sperm have mated and you actually have larvae swimming around here.”

这里是它们的所有产卵。卵子和精子结合，因此才能看见这里更多的幼年牡蛎游动。

Marty Byrnes grows the plant food of oysters, algae, in large tanks filled with salt water. The larvae absorb their algae diet for about two and a half weeks.Then, baby oysters appear.

马蒂·波恩在充满盐水的大缸里种植牡蛎的食物—海藻。受精卵在两周半内以海藻为食。然后就会长成幼年牡蛎。

“It looks like a grain of sand right now. It’s amazing, nature.”

现在它们看起来仅仅是沙子一样大，大自然很神奇。

After six weeks, millions upon millions of these little oysters are taken to farmsin the bay. They are placed in wire boxes to grow to harvesting size. In 18months, these oysters will be ready for market.

六周后，数不清的小牡蛎将被带到海湾养殖场。它们被养在铁丝箱里，直到长成可以出售的大小。这些牡蛎在18个月大时就可以到市场上出售。

Doug Winter is president of Great Atlantic. He says the oyster business hascome a long way from the bay bottom harvesting of the 1800s.

多格·温特是大西洋种植场的老板。他说牡蛎交易从1800s就已开始。

“With technology and advancements and the Internet and people really being environmentally conscious, there’s a big push for aquaculture. You can produce a lot more oysters, you can do it environmentally friendly, you can create reefs and clean estuaries, waterways, you can repopulate areas that are depleted and you can control your crop.”

随着科技进步，互联网的发展，人们环保意识逐渐增强，对水产养殖是较大的推动力。我们可以生产更多的牡蛎，可以做到环保，可以重建珊瑚、清洁河道和河口湾，可以增加贫乏地区牡蛎的数量，可以控制自己的产量。

The Blue Point is back. And the oysters are not just good to eat. They are alsogood to the water. Each oyster can filter more than 150 liters of water a day,removing algae, nitrogen, and other pollutants.

蓝点牡蛎重新回到了大南湾。这种牡蛎不仅吃起来口感较好，对河水也有益处。每个牡蛎一天能够过滤150升的水、清洁海藻、除去氮气和其它污染物。

I’m Marsha James.

Bernard Shusman reported this story from East Islip, New York. MarshaJames adapted it into Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

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Words in This Story

bed – n. the ground that is at the bottom of a sea, lake, etc.

lease – v. to rent out a place in return for money

plot– n. an area of land that has been measured and is considered as a unit

spawn – v. to produce or lay eggs in water

larvae –n. a very young form of life

aquaculture– n. the rearing of water animals or the cultivation of water plantsfor food

estuary– n. an area where a river flows into the sea