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First Oyster Reef Restoration Effort Launched

Oysters growing on clam shell after four months, in October 2008

They're often called the "coral reefs of the Northeast," nursing the next generation of oysters while offering a labyrinth of habitat where fish and other animals can grow, feed and hide.

Now, Mass Audubon, The Nature Conservancy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have launched an innovative oyster reef restoration project—the first of its kind in Massachusetts—at Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on Cape Cod. The project's aim is two-fold: to restore oyster reef habitat and the ecological services it provides, and to boost local populations of wild American Oyster, famously known on restaurant menus as the "Wellfleet Oyster."

"Habitat restoration should not stop at the high tide line. We have lost much of intertidal and sub-tidal habits and the ecosystem is stressed," said Bob Prescott, director of the Mass Audubon sanctuary.

"In looking at historical records from the early 1900s, we can see that Wellfleet's population of the American oyster has dropped substantially," said Loring Schwarz, acting state director for The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts. "Oysters are a keystone species; they have the very valuable ability to form reefs that attract a variety of marine life. It's likely that their decline has impacted the overall diversity of marine life in Wellfleet Bay."

The project involves the creation of different structures to serve as "nurseries" for oyster seed. To grow, infant oysters must anchor themselves to hard surfaces—such as the shells of their mature counterparts.

Working closely with Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game's Division of Marine and Fisheries and the Town of Wellfleet, Mass Audubon and Conservancy staff are experimenting this year with two different types of reef restoration structures where oyster seed can stick. As an experiment in design, two long and narrow ridges of shells were deposited on the Sanctuary tidal flat. The structure is bordered by netted mesh bags filled with more shells, which help keep the reef structure in place. Young oysters have settled on the shells and the monitoring of the site has begun.

"Habitat destruction is a primary driver of the decline of wild oysters in Massachusetts and around the country," said Mass Audubon President Laura Johnson. "By working with the state and Town of Wellfleet, representatives from the fishing industry, The Nature Conservancy and NOAA, we hope our cutting-edge research will result in important real-world applications for more ecologically sound strategies to supplement the farmed oyster harvest."

Monitoring tiles, like those used to tile a bathroom, are placed strategically around the harbor to track the recruitment. Next year, the study will look at how disease impacts oyster populations. "This is one of the most important aspects of the restoration project," said Andy Koch, Wellfleet Shellfish constable.

"The Department of Fish and Game and its Division of Marine Fisheries are always interested in supporting development of methods and programs that increase shellfish stocks, improve shellfish habitat and species diversity, and ultimately enhance the shellfisheries," said DFG Commissioner Mary Griffin. "We are pleased to work with The Nature Conservancy, Mass Audubon, NOAA, and the town of Wellfleet in this important restoration effort."

Since 2004, the Conservancy and partners have been working to restore native bivalves in estuaries around the U.S. In addition to bolstering wild oyster populations, restored oyster reefs come with a host of other valuable benefits, including filtering water and naturally defending shorelines against erosion and sea level rise.

"A project like this in Massachusetts is critical as the Conservancy works to renew key habitats along the entire Atlantic coast," continued Schwarz. "These habitats are engines of life for our marine systems and a tremendous resource for communities."

The Wellfleet project is funded in part through a two-year grant from a national partnership between the Conservancy and NOAA's Community-based Restoration Program (CRP). Since 2001, the Conservancy and NOAA CRP have jointly supported more than 70 marine and estuarine habitat restoration projects in 19 states. Restoration projects have included native shellfish reefs and beds, coral reefs, underwater grass beds, salt marshes, and floodplains that provide nursery habitat for fish. The Partnership has also helped to remove dams that impede migratory fish as they move upstream to reproduce.

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