July 18, 2018 — The Swan Island Oyster Sanctuary project has wrapped up its second phase and has received funding for a third phase in their expansion.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced a recommendation of $950,000 to go towards the third phase of the sanctuary’s restoration, a contribution that will be matched by the state through the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.
According to Erin Fleckenstein, coastal scientist and regional manager for the North Carolina Coastal Foundation, the project leaders requested $1.5 million from NOAA and thus $1.5 from the state, as NOAA had stipulated that the state must match its own contribution.
“It’s slightly less but it’s still a great contribution towards our goals,” Fleckenstein said.
Swan Island is home to the largest oyster restoration project in the state, according to Fleckenstein. North Carolina is home to 10-to-50 percent of the historic population of the vulnerable eastern oyster, compared to the one-to-10 percent of historic population present in Chesapeake Bay. But this is still low, a problem the sanctuary creators are hoping to change.