Oysters threaten Olympics - 26th July 2021

A rare species of oysters has made its home in Tokyo's Olympic water sport venue and added $1.28 million to its running costs.

The delayed 2020 Olympic canoeing and rowing events take place at Tokyo’s new Sea Forest Waterway. While preparing the venue for the upcoming games, officials noticed an issue with the floats.

They were confused as to why the floats, which protect athletes from unsettling waves, had started sinking. Their investigation revealed that reefs of rare oysters had taken over the floats.

It’s been a huge, time-consuming effort to resolve the situation. Some of the equipment that was spread out over 5.6 kilometres had to be taken to shore to be fixed. Divers had to clean the rest in place. Overall, 14 tonnes of oysters were removed.

Officials reported that these were magaki oysters, which are a local winter delicacy. However, the clean-up squad couldn’t profit from their large oyster find.

"We did not consider consuming them," one member of the team told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. "That would entail safety checks."

Although magaki oyster prices vary around the world, produce potentially worth tens of thousands of dollars has gone to waste.

Sea Forest Waterway is the only facility of its kind in Japan. It will require funds of around $1.5 million annually to maintain the site after the Games. However, city officials will have to solve their costly oyster infestation.