The oysters here in Washington State have more than enough food.

This massive conversion of inorganic carbon into a useable form allows much of the life in the oceans to survive. Carbon gets converted into sugars that are stored in cells that are eaten by zooplankton, filter feeders, and baleen whales. Zooplankton are eaten by small fish species, which are eaten by salmon, tuna, seabirds, marine mammals and on throughout the food web. Phytoplankton is in such high demand that the entire phytoplankton biomass of the world's oceans is consumed by filter feeders, from barnacles to baleen whales, every 2 to 6 days!

It's the declining ph of our saltwater here that is becoming very rapidly a big, big problem. That affects shellfish of all kinds.

In 2009, Peru quadrupled their volume of oyster exports, making the country the largest exporter of oysters on a regional scale. Peru exports around US$70 million of oysters, compared to US$21.4 million from Chile. Peru’s shipments increased as part of the 1999 El Nino phenomenon: a type of abnormal warming that occurs on the surface ocean waters in part of the eastern tropical pacific. Two years ago, Peru’s volume of oysters was 5,000 tons per year, while in 2009 it increased to 9,000 tons. Peru’s production costs are US$8 per kilo, compared to Chile’s US$10 per kilo.