Volunteers grow oysters for reef restoration

Relevance:

The Mobile Bay Oyster Gardening Program in Alabama is volunteer-based project that focuses on education, restoration/enhancement and research by bringing the reef to the people. Now in its twelfth year of operation, the oyster gardening program has produced nearly 750,000 oysters for restoration and enhancement efforts within Mobile Bay. 

Response:

Volunteers around Mobile Bay grow juvenile oysters from their wharves to be planted on restoration sites in Mobile Bay and the Mississippi Sound. In 2015, volunteers from 35 sites successfully grew and planted 43,571 oysters with a mean height of 53.5mm.

Results:

The oysters planted by volunteers in 2015 were sufficient to restore 2.15 acres of reef with an economic value estimated at $41,464.88.

Recap:

Volunteer oyster gardening citizen scientists, in partnership with MASGC Extension, restored up to 2.15 acres of oyster reef with a value of $41,464.88. (2015)