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The demise of the eastern oyster and its reef habitat has reduced biodiversity in the Pamlico Sound, but The Nature Conservancy is hoping its newest restoration strategy may change the tide.
The Conservancy has recently introduced captivity-spawned oyster larvae to the wild, a pioneer effort in an ongoing fight to repopulate the native species. On July 20, one million larval oysters were placed in each of two 550 gallon agricultural tanks. The tanks were filled with aerated water and 400 pieces of limestone marl, each approximately the size of a basketball. After three to four days, the free-floating larvae will join permanently to the material. At that time, the oysters and their new habitat will be moved to the Sound. Previous artificial reef-building ventures by the Conservancy placed limestone marl and oyster shells recycled from seafood restaurants into the Sound, but relied upon naturally occurring larval oysters to attach. Next week's trip will allow the Conservancy to ensure, for the first time, a living reef at the moment of implantation. Patrick Ertel, a conservation steward with the Conservancy, has partnered on the project with Skip Kemp, aquaculture professor at Carteret Community College. Using native oysters caught in Manteo and Wanchese, Kemp and his students bred and harvested six million oyster larvae in his lab. Two million were donated to Ertel free of charge despite the going rate of $1,000 per one million larvae. Other materials costs remain low, totaling about $2,000. On projects such as this one, there is a 25% projected survival rate. Since Ertel's crew has previously only studied the process theoretically, he expects the rate to be slightly lower, around 200,000. Nevertheless, it is hoped that additional measures undertaken will further increase those numbers. "We will remove the young oysters into the Sound but will grow them in protective cages to stop predation by blue crabs and fish," Ertel said. As an experimental control, a few groups will remain unprotected. Ertel ultimately hopes to discover whether the addition of larval oysters will increase the project's success. "We are curious�if we are intentionally attaching them in a protective setting, does it jump start the restoration process? Does it bypass two years of natural selection or does it behave exactly the same?" Ertel said. Through establishing large-scale sanctuaries, free from the disturbances caused by dredging and trawling, the Conservancy will create a sustainable brood stock. Healthy, permanent locations for breeding oysters will increase populations, with abundant larvae carried by currents and dispersed throughout the Sound, boosting commercial stocks as well. Other partners include the North Carolina Division of Water Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Part of the marl with larval oysters attached will be placed in Roanoke Island's festival park, which is managed by the Corps. The Conservancy also receives funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. The Nature Conservancy�s mission is to preserve plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. On the web at nature.org/northcarolina. (Images provided by the Nature Conservancy.)
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