Saving Seafood

VIRGINIA: Reaching a Major Oyster Restoration Milestone in Virginia’s York River

April 24, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA and partners are making great progress toward a big goal: To restore oyster reef habitat in 10 Chesapeake Bay tributaries by 2025. It’s the world’s largest oyster restoration project!

At an Earth Day 2024 event, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that work to restore oyster reefs in the York River is complete. The York River, which is located in NOAA’s Middle Peninsula Habitat Focus Area, is the eighth tributary to be declared to be restored.

“It is my privilege to commemorate this year’s Earth Day by officially announcing and celebrating the completion of the Lower York River Oyster Restoration Goal. By reaching this restoration goal, we are sending a clear message that this administration’s year-round commitment to preserve our natural resources is unwavering,” said Governor Youngkin. “As Virginians, we are blessed to be surrounded by an abundance of treasured natural resources and we will protect them.”

NOAA and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission conducted the project, which restored more than 200 acres of habitat.

Restored Reefs Provide Important Habitat

We believe that restoring oyster reef habitat is important because oysters—and the reefs they form—provide important benefits. Oyster reefs are important habitat for many commercially and recreationally significant fish and shellfish. Reefs give juvenile fish a place to hide from predators. Oysters are filter feeders, so they help improve water quality as they eat.

“NOAA is excited to celebrate not only the tremendous work to restore more than 200 acres of oyster reef in the York River—and the habitat these reefs will provide for species including black sea bass, summer flounder, and blue crabs—but also to highlight the partnership among Virginia agencies and NOAA that made it happen,” said Dr. Sunny Snider, deputy director of NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Habitat Conservation.

Healthy Reefs Support the Economy

Having more habitat and cleaner water is also good for people and the economy. Research shows that in one Chesapeake river, having restored reefs would lead to a 160 percent increase in the annual blue crab harvest.

“I am extremely proud of our Shellfish Management Division and the pivotal role that we have played in this historic achievement, which not only supports the most economically important commercial fishery in Virginia but also sets a precedent for sustainable coastal conservation efforts nationwide,” said Virginia Marine Resources Commissioner Jamie Green.

Restored Tributaries

Eight tributaries have been restored toward the Chesapeake Bay Program’s goal.

Maryland

  • Harris Creek
  • Little Choptank River
  • Tred Avon River
  • Upper St. Mary’s River

Virginia

  • Lafayette River
  • Piankatank River
  • Great Wicomico River
  • Lower York River

Virginia was so excited about restoring oyster reefs that they worked in an eleventh “bonus” tributary, the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River! Work continues in Virginia’s Lynnhaven River and Maryland’s Manokin River.

NOAA Plays Important Roles in Restoration

We chair the Maryland and Virginia workgroups that guide large-scale oyster reef restoration in the Chesapeake Bay. These groups do the planning and coordinate the implementation and construction of the projects. In the York River, NOAA scientists use sonar to map the bottom of the river where the reef projects are planned. They and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission will track the health of those restoration reefs after restoration to make sure they succeed.

In addition, we provided funding to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to support the York River project.

Study shows oyster reef restoration helps economy

October 26th, 2016 — A 54-acre oyster reef built in Matagorda Bay is benefiting more than sea life.

Half Moon Reef has become a fishing hot spot, adding $691,000 to the state’s domestic gross product each year and creating a dozen jobs, according to a Nature Conservancy study released this month.

About three years ago, the reef was dead. While there was some hard material left to build upon, there were no live oysters, said Mark Dumesnil, the associate director of coastal restoration in Texas for The Nature Conservancy.

The reef was once almost 500 acres, but dredging, major changes in hydrology that altered the amount of water entering Matagorda Bay and, possibly, a hurricane left the reef defunct.

In 2013, when Dumesnil and other researchers began their effort to bring the reef back to life, their main priority was to create a habitat for fish.

“It’s more than just the oysters,” he said. “My goal was to restore it for all of the ecosystem services.”

Oyster reefs can help clean water, provide habitat for a huge diversity of reef-dependent sea life and help reduce the amount and prevalence of harmful algal blooms by removing nitrogen from the water.

But soon Dumesnil was receiving phone calls and emails from fishing guides who were reaping benefits of their own. So, The Nature Conservancy teamed up with Texas Sea Grant to survey anglers and fishing guides to quantify the social and economic benefits of Half Moon Reef.

Read the full story at the Victoria Advocate 

Aquaculture on the rise in coastal North Carolina

October 22, 2015 — NEW HANOVER COUNTY, N.C. – Nearly all of southeastern North Carolina’s waters are now open for shellfish harvesting after heavy rains and floods left most areas polluted earlier this month.

Not only are oysters one of the state’s most popular shellfish to eat, but the shells themselves can be used as hardworking landscape material, in the form of driveways and patios.

Oyster shells make up many of the paths at Colonial Williamsburg to to get around. But starting October 1, a new law went into effect prohibiting contractors from using the shells in commercial landscaping.

The new law is an effort to increase the state’s oyster shell recycling program, where the shells are used to rebuilt oyster reefs.

“Oysters happen to be one of the few species that when we harvest it, we take the habitat right along with it, so we are trying to put that back into place,” said UNC-Wilmington’s Troy Alphin. “Larvae oysters depend on the adult oyster shell for settlement, and they have a very narrow window for settlement in their life span, only a couple of weeks. So if the shells are not in the water, they are not available for the larvae to settle on, these larvae will die. What we are trying to do is make sure the shells are back in the water as soon as we can they will be available for the next generation of oysters.”

At a summit earlier this year, North Carolina ecologists, scientists and politicians announced new efforts to make North Carolina the “Napa Valley of Oysters.”  One way that can be accomplished is by developing new oyster sanctuaries, something that Virginia and other states have already done.

A healthy oyster population is linked to the overall health of coastal fisheries.

Read the full story at WECT6