removing most forms of particulate matter suspended in the water column. The particulate matter oysters remove are sand, clay, silt, detritus, and phytoplankton. These particulates all could possibly contain harmful contamination that originates from anthropogenic sources (the land or directly flowing into the body of water). Instead of becoming ingested by other filter feeders that are then digested by bigger organisms, oysters can sequester these possibly harmful pollutants, and excrete them into the sediment at the bottom of waterways. To remove these contaminants from the sediment, species of seaweed can be added to take up these contaminants in their plant tissues that could be removed and taken to a contained area where the contamination is benign to the surrounding environment. More recently, large-scale cultivation of oysters and other shellfish has been proposed as a method to combat climate change, because the growth of the oyster shell sequesters atmospheric carbon dioxide in a form (calcium carbonate) that is stable over geologic time. In The United States, the cultivation of Pacific oysters in tidal areas not only improves water quality in the ocean but oyster cultivation also works to improve government policy. Oysters farming must obey federal regulations, maps, and models. Federal regulation monitors the safety of the environment and the health effects on humans. Carlsbad Aquafarm located in Southern California is cultivating Pacific oysters by using rafts and trays to utilize space to optimize production while operating near the newly opened Claude Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant. New adopted environmental impact regulations and policies were created and updated by The United States Environmental Protection Agency, which approved the location and construction of the Claude Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant through the federal Clean Water Act on April 7, 2016, whose main focus was minimizing environmental impact in conjunction with Carlsbad Aquafarm. Applications and permits for aquaculture projects such as the Avalon Ocean Farm are made public and required to follow the same guidelines of the EPA and the CWA. Water Quality, Marine Mammals (including endangered species), and forecasted environmental impact evaluations are listed in the project's description to minimize, manage, and mitigate its environmental impact. Predators, diseases and pests Oyster predators include starfish, oyster drill snails, stingrays, Florida stone crabs, birds, such as oystercatchers and gulls, and humans. Pathogens that can affect either farmed C. virginica or C. gigas oysters include Perkinsus marinus (Dermo) and Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX). However, C. virginica are much