Oysters and scallops

Oysters and scallops used to be plentiful in the waters of Carteret County, North Carolina, where I grew up. During all of the 20th century, many of the roads in the fishing villages Down East were "paved" with their empty shells. They are still so used, but on a more limited scale.


Nowadays, the scallop harvest is very small. That's because, they say, so many of the big sharks have been killed off. The sharks ate the rays that eat the scallops. No sharks, too many rays, no scallops. There are still plenty of oysters, but how long will they last? They aren't farmed the way they are along the French coast.