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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/oyster-reef-restoration-chesapeake-bay/>
"It would be a quiet and peaceful morning at the edge of the Choptank River in
Cambridge, Maryland, if not for the forklifts racing around the pier, scraping
five-foot-tall metal cages along the ground as they go. It’s early May and the
sun is just beginning to burn off the mid-morning haze, but the crew has been
at it since dawn. Everyone is energized despite the early start, and rightfully
so, because the cages are brimming with oysters bound for a new home. This is
the biggest day of reef restoration the Chesapeake Bay has ever seen.
A crane lifts the cages out of eight tanks submerged into the river, where
millions of baby oysters — spat, as they’re known — have spent the past week
searching for the right shell. One by one, 200 in all, the cages are dragged
over to a conveyor belt and dumped out in a sudden clamor. Up the belt they
climb as they’re loaded onto the
J. Millard Tawes for transport. The vessel
served as an icebreaker and buoy tender in its past lives, but today it will
carry these mollusks south for 70 nautical miles to the Manokin River, where
they’ll get to work breathing life back into the bay.
In the early 1900s, spent oyster shells were piled high at shucking houses
throughout this region. Each one represented a piece of reef removed, rapidly
degrading the aquatic environment in the process. In the Maryland portion of
the bay alone, an estimated 15 million bushels were harvested annually to
satisfy demand. With a helping hand from nutrient pollution and two ravaging
mid-century diseases, excessive harvests decimated the oyster population and
the natural habitat formed by the bivalves. By 2011, the population in the bay
was estimated at less than one percent of historic levels.
The mountain of shells forming today on the deck of the
J. Millard Tawes
might resemble the heaps discarded at oyster bars a century ago, but its
purpose is to reverse that complicated history. The decade-long, $100 million
initiative, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and
slated for completion this year, is the world’s largest oyster reef
restoration. It serves as a global model — the “gold standard,” according to
Olivia Caretti, the coastal restoration program manager for the Oyster Recovery
Partnership, a nonprofit leading the conservation of native oysters in the
Chesapeake. This morning, she’s ensuring that all these oysters safely complete
their journey, which began in March when they were spawned at the nearby Horn
Point Oyster Hatchery and will end when they settle onto reefs in the waters of
the Manokin.
The river is one of 10 Chesapeake tributaries targeted by the project, and its
450 acres of restored reef alone would surpass any other undertaking. Today, 23
million spat will be planted into the river to join the cause. The ship sags
under their weight, enough that its captain briefly wonders if it’s hit bottom.
It’s the team’s largest planting to date, and donuts are in order as part of
the celebration.
“In this era of climate change and environmental degradation, this is a rare
success story,” says Stephanie Westby, NOAA’s oyster reef program manager. “We
have 1,700 or so acres of healthy oyster reefs that just weren’t there
before.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
