First oyster reef restoration effort launched

Now, Mass Audubon, The Nature Conservancy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have launched an innovative oyster reef restoration project—the first of its kind in Massachusetts—at Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on Cape Cod. The project's aim is two-fold: to restore oyster reef habitat and the ecological services it provides, and to boost local populations of wild American Oyster, famously known on restaurant menus as the "Wellfleet Oyster."

"Habitat restoration should not stop at the high tide line. We have lost much of intertidal and sub-tidal habits and the ecosystem is stressed," said Bob Prescott, director of the Mass Audubon sanctuary.

The project involves the creation of different structures to serve as "nurseries" for oyster seed. To grow, infant oysters must anchor themselves to hard surfaces—such as the shells of their mature counterparts.

Working closely with Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game's Division of Marine and Fisheries and the Town of Wellfleet, Mass Audubon and Conservancy staff are experimenting this year with two different types of reef restoration structures where oyster seed can stick. As an experiment in design, two long and narrow ridges of shells were deposited on the Sanctuary tidal flat. The structure is bordered by netted mesh bags filled with more shells, which help keep the reef structure in place. Young oysters have settled on the shells and the monitoring of the site has begun.