By PBS Digital Studios
Women of the Earth, a short-form documentary series from PBS Digital Studios, recently featured Abby Barrows from Deer Isle Oyster Company in Stonington, Maine, in this 18-minute episode: How This Oyster Farmer is Reinventing Aquaculture.
Episode overview: Oysters are powerful ecosystem engineers—they filter water, reduce ocean acidification, and build reefs that act as natural breakwaters, protecting our coasts. But the plastic gear used to farm them is doing irreversible harm to the very ecosystems oysters help restore. Abby Barrows, a marine scientist and microplastics researcher turned oyster farmer, is confronting this paradox head-on. At her Maine-based oyster farm, Deer Isle Oyster Company, Abby is pioneering plastic-free aquaculture gear—and in doing so, she’s challenging not only how we farm oysters sustainably, but also how we imagine the future of aquaculture itself.
About Women of the Eart
Women of the Earth highlights stories of women across America who are leading a movement to restore and protect the land. The individuals featured are educators in science, agriculture, and climate change. They represent a diverse group of women who utilize ancient and modern land practices to help communities recover from the impact of climate change. Watch the one-minute trailer.
