|
Washington State First to Launch Regional
Shellfish Initiative
When
NOAA published its draft policy for aquaculture last year, The Nature
Conservancy enthusiastically supported an industry-initiated National
Shellfish Initiative. The new Initiative was designed to advance the
science and practice of both responsible aquaculture and effective
restoration of shellfish reefs and beds. On December 9, 2011, Washington
Governor Christine Gregoire and NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco
announced the Washington
Shellfish Initiative – the first regional expression of the national
program. The Washington effort addresses reforms that will allow responsible
shellfish aquaculture to expand, boosts efforts to restore native Olympia
oysters and pinto abalone, and focuses funding and inter-agency attention on
water quality problems that affect shellfish.
The announcement was highlighted in Seattle newspapers and in an AP article
for national distribution, and on the local National Public Radio
affiliate. Karen Anderson, Executive Director for TNC’s Washington
Chapter, was quoted: “The shellfish initiative is good news for Puget Sound
and for shellfish growers who provide us with healthy and delicious local
seafood. It’s a big step toward improving water quality for both people and
nature.”
The event also attracted participation from the Division Commander of the US
Army Corps of Engineers, who will join with other regulators in seeking ways
to consolidate and simplify permitting processes for both shellfish
aquaculture and restoration projects. The Chair of the Northwest Indian
Fisheries Commission also attended the announcement, and is an important
voice for shellfish and salmon restoration in Washington.
The Conservancy’s Washington Chapter has been working with NOAA’s Restoration
Center, shellfish farmers and environmental groups for about 10 years to
restore native Olympia oyster populations in Puget Sound. More recently TNC’s
partnership with the industry has expanded to include policy issues related
to the industry and restoration, joint interests in habitat protection and
water quality, and science to verify ecosystem services derived from
shellfish. The strategy is to employ both farmed and wild shellfish to
mitigate nutrient loading and enhance fish habitat in Puget Sound and
Washington’s Pacific Coast estuaries. TNC is developing, at a national scale,
a set of ecosystem models that can be used to set meaningful restoration
goals, which will help to advance the Initiative.
Washington leads the country in production of farmed clams, oysters and
mussels with an annual value of over $107 million. Washington shellfish
growers directly and indirectly employ over 3,200 people and provide an
estimated total economic contribution of $270 million. Among TNC’s leading
industry partners is Taylor
United, a family-owned business that is North America’s largest producer
and exporter of fresh oysters and clams. Bill Taylor, president of Taylor
Shellfish, said “We have never before experienced this level of unified
commitment from so many critical stakeholders. We believe this is the level
of effort required to ensure that the Initiative’s goals are achieved.”
Contact Paul Dye for questions.
Back to top »
Metrics and Monitoring Criteria for Oyster Restoration
Projects: Emerging Guidance
|
|
|
Workshop participants Mark Luckenbach, Ted Grosholtz,
Jenn Greene, Ray Grizzle, Mike Piehler and Rob Brumbaugh discuss metrics at
the first workshop, November 30-December 2.
© Loren
Coen/Florida Atlantic University
|
As
the value of the ecosystem services provided by these habitats is
increasingly recognized as a management priority for conservation
organizations as well as local, state and federal agencies, restoration of
oyster reefs and beds has gained momentum. With this new momentum comes a
need and responsibility to effectively measure the outcomes of restoration
projects, ideally in ways that allow for comparison between sites and
adaptive management over time. Recently NOAA’s Restoration Center and
partners have initiated a project to develop a set of standardized guidelines
for monitoring of oyster restoration projects throughout the US. The aim is
to take lessons from data appearing in the literature and input from
restoration practitioners to produce a guidance manual that details standard
monitoring metrics and methods that allow for comparison across projects,
regions and species. The results will be made available in a ‘Practitioners
Guide’ and supported by material on the oyster restoration clearing house web
site at oyster
restoration website.
The project is supported by NOAA, The Nature Conservancy and the University
of Southern Alabama (USA), with direction from a steering committee including
Rob Brumbaugh and Boze Hancock of TNC, Sean Powers of USA, Summer Morlock and
Bryan DeAngelis of the NOAA Restoration Center, and Loren Coen of Florida
Atlantic University. Lesley Baggett, a post-doctoral research associate
at USA is leading the effort to synthesize information and write the guidance
manual. In late November, a small group of experts from the west, gulf and
east coasts of the U.S. was convened to provide input for the initial draft
of the guidance manual. The group recommends two tiers of monitoring,
including a set of “universal metrics” that practitioners should use to
document fundamental outcomes of all restoration projects, and a set of
somewhat more involved parameters that may be appropriate for some projects,
with a focus on ecosystem services such as water filtration and fish
enhancement from reefs. The manual will provide suggestions around the best
existing techniques available for measuring these parameters and will be
available for review by practitioners by spring 2012. A second workshop is
being planned that will introduce the guidelines to the restoration community
more broadly and discuss opportunities for their implementation.
Contact Boze Hancock for more
information.
Back to top »
Upcoming Events and Conferences
National
Shellfisheries Association (NSA) 104th Annual Conference
March 25-29, 2012
Seattle, Washington
Registration now open
Restore
America’s Estuaries (RAE) 6th National Conference on Coastal and Estuarine
Habitat Restoration
October 22-27, 2012
Tampa, Florida
Conference Theme: "Restoring Ecosystems, Strengthening Communities"
Call for Session Proposals is now open
Note: If you would like to contribute an article or
submit items for the "Looking Ahead" section, please contact Rob Brumbaugh.
Back to top »
Oyster Restoration Publications
and Resources
Oyster
Restoration Working Group Research and Reports
The
Practitioner’s Guide to
Shellfish Restoration: An Ecosystem Services Approach, as
well as back issues of the Shellfish
Restoration Clamor are available online.
Cool Video!
“Sink
Your Shucks” Shell Recycling Program
Harte Research Institute, Texas A & M University
Corpus Christi, Texas
Back to top »
|
