Oyster gardening in Alabama has been around since 2000. Each year, volunteers with waterfront access provide a nursery environment for juvenile oysters suspended from their wharves.
The oysters quickly grow, and by November, they are ready to plant on degraded reef sites in Alabama. Once there, they will spawn the following spring, providing millions of additional oyster larvae for the system.
We are so excited that oyster gardening will be coming to Mississippi in time for the 2017 season.
Thanks to a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, volunteers in Mississippi, students and others will be able to participate in this hands-on project to bring a boost to oyster populations in Mississippi waters. They also will learn more about what oysters do from an ecological and economical perspective.
Some details are still awaiting final decisions, but progress is being made on all fronts to be ready.
For a more complete description of oyster gardening, click on the photos below to watch video about the program.
If you are interested in more information and potentially being a Mississippi oyster gardener, contact me at oystergardening@masgc.org.
Meet the author
P.J. Waters, Ph.D.
Associate Extension Professor
P.J. is an associate extension professor with Auburn University. He coordinates the Mobile Bay Oyster Gardening Program and its projects, as well as K-12 aquaculture/aquascience programs. PJ works... Read more
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