PORTLAND, Ore. -- While an apparent warm blob in the Pacific Ocean is harming some marine life, it's actually benefiting the oysters being grown along our coast.
"The blob is producing water that is warm and the oyster hatcheries, they like the warm water," said Oregon State University Oceanography professor Burke Hales.
Hales says the water chemistry in the blob is actually favorable to oyster growth because it is lower in carbon dioxide and therefore has less acidity than it typically would this time of the year.
The winter has shaped up to be a good one at the Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery in Netarts.
Oysters that normally would take two years to get big only took a year.
"They're already ready to sell, which is not typical to have that kind of growth rate in the wintertime," said oyster farmer Mark Wiegardt.
