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Oyster Restoration Workgroup’s Mission
Oysters and oyster reefs once were common along much of the U.S. coastline. The eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, has declined to levels where serious thought is being given to introducing a non-native species, C. ariakensis, in the Chesapeake Bay. The Olympia oyster, Ostreola conchaphila, rarely is harvested today unless under aquaculture. Once valued primarily as a resource, oysters are now recognized as important “ecosystem engineers” in estuaries. Oysters create complex habitats relied on by numerous fish, crustaceans, bivalves, other invertebrates, birds, and mammals. During feeding, oysters also can filter large volumes of water, improving clarity and quality while transferring nutrients from the water column to the sediments. In recognition of the importance of oyster reefs to overall coastal ecosystem functions, large- and small-scale restoration of reef habitats is ongoing in most coastal states. However, consensus on what constitutes a successful reef restoration project currently does not exist.
The most commonly used metric of success has been the presence of market-sized oysters (75 mm or 3”), but in SC oysters >75 mm are <10% of all oysters at most sites. The Oyster Restoration Workgroup and this website were established to address questions of reef restoration success as well as all pertinent issues associated with the restoration of both intertidal and subtidal oyster reefs. Visitors will be able to view findings from past meetings and workshops, as well as details for upcoming events, obtain contact information for professionals and experts working in the field, obtain detailed descriptions of suggested approaches for measuring reef restoration success, and find links to the latest literature. Future additions to the site will depend on the needs of the oyster restoration community.
Shellfish at Risk: A Global Study
The Nature Conservancy has put together a PDF fact sheet on its project to identify the state, condition, and action needed to conserve shellfish ecosystems.
More information, including a fact sheet and some distribution maps, can be found here.
Download fact sheet (PDF)
Download document (PDF)
Upcoming Events
5th National Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration (RAE)
RAE's national conference on Galveston Island, Texas, November 13-17, 2010, brings together the best and the brightest in the coastal habitat restoration community—diverse stakeholders from across the country, including top representatives from federal, state, and local governments; corporations and businesses; non-profits; grassroots organizations; tribal associations; and education—all united in the search for solutions to the needs of our coastal ecosystems.
13th International Conference on Shellfish Restoration
ICSR’10 will be held once again in historic Charleston, South Carolina on November 17-20, 2010. The theme of this year’s conference will focus on the progress made in shellfish restoration over the past 25 years, since the first ICSR held in 1986, and how these efforts have shaped the role for shellfish restoration for the future. This retrospective-prospective approach will provide an opportunity for resource managers, shellfish farmers, community activists, historians, and anthropologists to exchange ideas and information which will enhance our ability to restore molluscan shellfish populations, improve water quality, and protect the environmental health of our critically important estuarine and coastal ecosystems.
Visit the conference website
Download the Call for Abstracts