Why Restore Oysters?
The Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) is a keystone species, crucial for keeping our estuaries healthy. Oysters attach to one another, forming reefs, which provide many valuable ecological services:
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Protect our saltmarshes, which keep us safe from flooding and storm surges
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Filter many gallons of water per day, helping improve water quality
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Provide habitat for economically and ecologically valuable fish and crustaceans, often used as shelter for reproduction and growth
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Help cycle nutrients and carbon
The Problem:
We have lost more than 85% of global oyster reef habitat primarily due to overharvesting. With this, we’ve lost many of the ecosystem services they provide.
Increasing boat wake activity and storm surges threaten saltmarshes that have lost their protection from oyster reefs.
Coastal development can degrade water quality.
There is a big push to restore oyster populations to recover the lost ecosystem services they provide and help us live in harmony with our coastal waterways for years to come.
Why Use Oyster Shell?
Free-floating baby oysters respond to chemical cues given off by oyster shells, making them one of the best substrates to use for reef restoration.
Oyster shells often end up in the landfill after they are used, but we can return those shells to our rivers in living shorelines and rebuild our lost oyster reefs.