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Year: 2023

Project(s):
Cooperative research to evaluate the ecosystem services provided by farm-raised oysters used for reef enhancement (Phase 1) Cooperative research to evaluate the ecosystem services provided by farm-raised oysters used for reef enhancement (Phase 2)

Relevance

The COVID-19 pandemic caused massive disruptions to oyster farming operations due to closures of restaurants that purchased farmed-raised oysters from processors. As a result, there was an opportunity to use unmarketable oysters to restore and enhance oyster habitat. 

Response

Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium (MASGC) extension specialists worked with the oyster aquaculture industry and resource management agencies to develop and administer the Concerned Oystermen Restoring Estuaries (CORE) Program, which used funding to purchase unmarketable oysters from farmers benefiting both the oyster farming industry and the natural resource.

Results

MASGC used project funding to buy approximately 408,000 oysters from farmers to place onto reefs for restoration in Alabama and Mississippi. In addition, 12 farms provided oysters as project matching funds for a total of 575,000 oysters that were placed on reefs. This was the equivalent of restoring 29 acres with an economic value of $764,634.00.

Recap

The Mississippi Alabama Sea Grant Consortium purchased more than 408,000 unmarketable farm-raised oysters that farmers deployed, at the direction of resource managers, to restore natural reefs in Mississippi and Alabama. (2023)