Marine Life

The Coastal Transplants

Roger Williams University revives the local shellfish population

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Rhode Island’s oysters suffered a large-scale die-off due to the parasite Dermo in the mid-1990s, and the population has been struggling ever since. In an effort to restore the wild oyster population throughout Narragansett Bay, coastal ponds and Block Island, two men with a passion for aquaculture, Steve Patterson and Dr. Dale Leavitt, started the Rhode Island Oyster Gardening for Restoration and Enhancement (OGRE) program at Roger Williams University with a grant from the Rhode Island Aquaculture Initiative in 2006.

What would make this project unique was the emphasis on partnerships with private citizens. In order to get those citizens directly involved, they sent out a press release calling for volunteers with waterfront properties to utilize their docks and moorings to rear juvenile oysters. These would serve as nurseries for growing oysters until they were large enough to be transported to oyster sanctuaries across the state. Within a short amount of time, volunteers contacted the program and 18 were chosen as pilot sites.

By July, each volunteer’s dock or mooring was installed with a floating oyster mesh cage, measuring three feet long by four feet wide and 10 inches deep, referred to as an “oyster float.” Inside was a collection of clam shells (cultch) where the juvenile oysters (spat), measuring only about one to two milimeters, were anchored. Because of the disease Dermo, the stock of oysters used had to be chosen carefully. Although most oysters died-off, there was a small percentage that survived. These that survived were more disease-resistant and were therefore used as the parent stock (broodstock) for this new generation of oysters.

Private citizen maintenance on these oyster floats consisted of occasional flipping over and flushing to remove any waste produced by the growing juveniles. After a summer of the juveniles feeding at the nutrient-rich top layer of water, they had grown to about one inch and were ready to be transported to the sanctuaries. By the end of the 2006 growing season, approximately 240,000 oysters were transplanted to an approved restoration site in Jenny’s Creek on Prudence Island. In 2008, with 73 volunteers rearing juvenile oysters, approximately 800,000 oysters were transplanted to previous sites plus a new site on Block Island and in various coastal ponds. Fast forward to 2012 where there are 94 volunteers; this month, the floats are being emptied and the juvenile oysters will be transported to the sanctuaries in the open ocean.

Why restore oysters? Why put so much time and effort into a bivalve? It is because oysters are a keystone species. A keystone species is one whose presence and role within an ecosystem has a disproportionate effect on other organisms within the system. Oysters create reefs which provide shelter and habitat for many other species such as winter flounder, lobster, tautog, menhaden and cunner. They also improve water clarity by filtering up to 50 gallons per day per oyster and they reduce bank erosion.

This project has been an example of private individuals stepping forward to be part of the solution. With more volunteers coming on board every season and new sanctuary sites being approved, the coasts are getting clearer in the Rhode Island oyster saga. If you are interested in getting involved, call or email Steve Patterson. 254-3707, oysters@rwu.edu.

Rhode Island Oyster Gardening for Restoration and Enhancement, roger williams university, RWU, rhode island aquaculture initiative, oysters, narragansett bay, east bay, the bay magazine

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