Transcript Jay, A.T. - South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium

The Massachusetts Oyster
Project For Clean Water
Restoring oysters to their natural range
to improve harbor water quality
November 18, 2010
International Conference on
Shellfish Restoration 2010
Charleston, South Carolina
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Our Goal
Re-establish protected oyster reef populations on
suitable areas on the Charles, Fort Point
Channel, Mystic, Chelsea Creek, Neponset,
Malibu Bay, Harbor Islands and other areas to
improve water quality, offset run-off pollution,
attract other sea life and help perpetuate the
species.
These oysters will be placed in sanctuary areas
closed to shell fishing and are not intended to be
harvested- ever.
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Oyster Benefits
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Filtering water in tidal estuaries
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30 gallons per oyster per day
Feeding on phytoplankton and silt
Improves water clarity
Offsetting impact from sewer overflows and other manmade
pollutants
Capturing nitrogen, algae and bacteria
Offsetting ocean acidification
Cleaner water attracts other sea life and people
Crassostrea Virginica
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Oyster History
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Oysters once prevalent in Boston Area
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Mystic and Charles Rivers had abundant
beds.
Very popular food source for native
Americans, colonial times and up through
mid 19th century
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Easy to harvest
Kept and shipped with ease
Surprisingly non-filling
Back bay reef may have served as food
source for the poor
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The historic records confirm oyster
prevalence in Boston Harbor
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Boston Massacre trial records mention
oysters shells being thrown and an
oysterman being injured.
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Oyster Demise
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Loss of habitat- through fill
Misuse- oyster shells and
sometimes whole oysters
were spread on fields to
reduce soil acidity
River subjugationprotective dams convert
significant areas of Back
Bay and Mystic Rivers to
fresh water.
Pollution- sewage flows,
river silt, chemicals
Over-harvesting- feeding
humans
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Our Non-Profit
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Formed in 2008 to restore
oysters
All volunteer
Obtained permits from the
Massachusetts Division of
Marine Fisheries
Has learned a great deal
Continues to evolve
We stress
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Water Quality
Biodiversity
More Fish
Oyster reefs are the coral reefs of the North.
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Why Oysters to Clean Water?
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Water clarity has improved dramatically and is improving
thanks to Boston Water and Sewer & MWRA projects.
But there still is waste entering the harbor through
Combined Sewer Outflows (CSOs) and surface run-off.
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When there is a heavy rain, the water volume exceeds the
capacity of pipes to treatment facilities.
Thus domestic sewage and storm water may be diverted to the
CSOs and into the harbor.
This waste can raise nitrogen levels and contribute to algae
blooms.
There also will be an ongoing problem with
contamination from surface run-off.
Downstream this can lead to beach closings or
limitations on activity on the water sheet.
“Treating wastewater can only do so much”
John Sullivan BW&S
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CSO’s and surface runoff remain
a problem.
Source: MWRA Recommended CSO Control Plan and Report 2005
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Oyster Reefs
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Have 50 times the surface area of flat bottom
Home to over 100 other species including anemones,
mussels, eels, shrimp and even lobsters
These other species are food sources for fish including
striped bass and blue fish
Cleaner water helpful for eelgrass a key plant in the
harbor ecosystem
Healthy Reef 500 Oysters per
square yard- Some Vertical
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Harvested Reef 50 Oysters per
square yard- Most Laid Down
Oyster Reefs Draw Other Sea LifeBluefish, Sea Bass, Flounder, Eels
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Hard substrate
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Vertical structure for
shelter
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Place to lay eggs
Anchor for aquatic
plants
Small fish
Grass shrimp
Food
Water quality
regulation
Oysters can triple the number of
fish!
Abstract Oyster-shell plantings were made on formerly productive bottom to
determine the practicability of securing an oyster set in this area and to test the
hypothesis that the availability of game fish could be improved by artificially modifying
the habitat in Chincoteague Bay, Maryland. Fish populations were trapped over
planted and unplanted control areas with the same effort from August to November in
1958 and 1959. Fourteen species of saltwater fish were recorded in the planted and
control areas, of which the black sea bass,Centropristes striatus, was the dominant
species.
The planted areas yielded about three times as many fish as the
controls during the two years. Black sea bass numbers were much
greater on planted areas than on control areas. The planted area also
produced more species than the unplanted area.
More fish were caught over both planted and control bottoms during 1959 than in
1958, due partially to improved trap design. There is some evidence of improvement
in the availability of fish over a planted area that has aged for a year. It is concluded
that oyster-shell plantings significantly concentrated and increased numbers of fish
over restricted areas, when compared to unplanted areas.
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Progress to Date
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2008 Phase I Pilot
Placed 150,000 oysters at the mouth of the
Charles River off of the North End.
Disperse Oysters Here
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Placement Event
Media Coverage
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TV- Channel 4, 5, and 7
Radio NPR- WBUR
Print
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Placement Event
Media Coverage
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Placement Follow up
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Results
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6 months later 50% surviva
A bit more silt than we would
like
Silting from Spring run-off
reduced survival to 20%
Harbor surprisingly vital
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Mussels, crabs, lobsters and
starfish
Fish
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Oysters on the Bottom
Living
Dead
Living
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The Survivors of the Class of
2008 Grew
Photos taken October 2009
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Caged Oysters Summer 2009
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Hung off deck in Charles River
Tremendous growth in 23 days
Lots of other sea-life. shrimp, crabs etc.
Conclusion: Oysters can grow well in this
environment.
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Year 1 Learnings
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Oysters could survive the winter
Oysters can grow
We need to keep them out of the silt
We have not yet shown reproduction
Its OK to make mistakes. It is not
OK to repeat them!
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2009
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Monitor success or failure of Charles
pilot
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Placed 50,000 more oysters October 25
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20% survival- No sign of reproduction
Carefully scope out locations with divers
Use cages to facilitate monitoring
Start Pilot at Dorchester Yacht Club with
Professor AnaMarija Frankic of UMass
Boston.
Get oysters on display at the New
England Aquarium- educate!
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Mass Oyster 2009 Placements
(In 2008 the boats drifted too far out in the Channel,
and the oysters wound up in silt y areas that
impeded there growth.)
Oysters placed
here in 2008.
Oysters placed in three locations
in 2009.
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Charles River Oysters 2010
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In three formats
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Loose on bottom (20% survival)
In cages on bottom (50% survival)
In milk crates hung from docks
(80% survival)
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Best way to get data without divers
Expanding techniques to gather
more data
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How big a factor is predation?
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Oysters in Malibu Bay
Dorchester
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Oysters were placed on November 26th 2009 under the
auspices of a scientific permit from Massachusetts
Division of Marine Fisheries.
The oysters were split into two groups. Each group was
suspended off of a dock in two stacked milk crates.
The milk crates were checked periodically and the
oysters were measured.
Two sets of oysters were placed.
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One was lost during dock construction.
The second was lost temporarily but recovered
Key lesson on placement- choose discrete permanent location.
Oysters removed on October 1, 2010 per the request of
DMF.
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Boston Harbor Map
Dorchester
Yacht Club
In Malibu Bay
The bay has full, 12
foot tidal swings and
a muddy bottom.
The edges contain
sandy beach,
mudflats, wetland
grass and stony
areas.
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A special “Thank you” to Al and the
membership of Dorchester Yacht Club.
They are very interested in improving the Harbor and
delightful to terrific to work with.
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Oyster Size
OYSTER LENGTH
(Location: DORCHESTER YACHT CLUB)
72
SIZE (MM)
Max. Shell Length
Mean Shell Length
52
Min. Shell Length
32
12
May 21 2010
massoyster.org
June 21 2010
July 28 2010
September 1,
2010
October 1, 2010
Oyster Size Normalized
Histograms
Normalized Histograms Dorchester
1.2
1
0.8
May-10
0.6
10-Oct
0.4
0.2
Size
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86
89
80
83
74
77
68
71
62
65
56
59
50
53
44
47
38
41
32
35
26
29
20
23
14
17
0
Length Standard Deviation
Length Standard Deviation Dorchester Oysters
14
12
Millimeters
10
8
6
4
2
We physically lost
some oysters
here, which may
have narrowed
the sample.
0
May 21 2010
massoyster.org
June 21 2010
July 28 2010
September 1, 2010
It seemed like the oysters had a target length for entering the
second winter ~75 mm
October 1, 2010
Normalized Size Histogram
Normalized Histograms Dorchester
Size
massoyster.org
86
89
80
83
74
77
68
71
62
65
56
59
50
53
44
47
38
41
32
35
26
29
20
23
14
17
10-Oct
Oyster Weight in Pounds
Average Weight Dorchester Oysters
0.090
0.080
0.070
Pounds
0.060
0.050
0.040
0.030
0.020
0.010
0.000
May 21 2010
massoyster.org
June 21 2010
July 28 2010
September 1,
2010
October 1, 2010
Water Temperature Data
Temperature Dorchester Yacht Club
(Degrees F)
Captured Using I-Button measuring every four hours.
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10/14/2009
12/3/2009
massoyster.org
1/22/2010
3/13/2010
5/2/2010
6/21/2010
8/10/2010
9/29/2010
11/18/2010
Conclusions
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Oysters can survive in Dorchester’s Malibu Bay in a
caged environment.
Oysters can grow at a healthy pace in Dorchester’s
Malibu Bay while suspended in the water column.
We saw no sign of reproduction. However, we were not
anticipating it. Further study would be required to confirm
that reproduction is possible in this environment.
However, the impressive growth may indicate favorable
conditions.
Given that oysters once were prevalent throughout
Boston Harbor and that there are significant
environmental benefits from their presence, further
research and restoration efforts on this topic may be
warranted.
massoyster.org
massoyster.org
Date
8/
0
10
10
10
01
1/
20
4/
20
6/
20
29
/2
8/
7/
6/
0
0
0
10
01
01
01
9/
20
11
/2
14
/2
14
/2
5/
4/
3/
2/
0
09
09
09
01
20
20
20
17
/2
/2
0/
/2
2/
/2
5/
1/
12
11
10
Average Size (mm.)
Charles River Oyster Growth
Oyster Size (Charlestown)
70
55
40
massoyster.org
Time
8/
0
10
10
10
01
1/
20
4/
20
6/
20
29
/2
8/
7/
6/
0
0
0
10
01
01
01
9/
20
11
/2
14
/2
14
/2
5/
4/
3/
2/
0
09
09
09
01
20
20
20
17
/2
/2
0/
/2
2/
/2
5/
1/
12
11
10
Population
Charles River Oyster Survival
Survival (Charlestown)
390
370
350
330
310
290
270
250
Date
massoyster.org
9/
4/
20
10
8/
7/
20
10
8/
21
/2
01
0
5/
15
/2
01
0
5/
29
/2
01
0
6/
12
/2
01
0
6/
26
/2
01
0
7/
10
/2
01
0
7/
24
/2
01
0
Pounds
Charles River Oysters
Constitution Weight 50 Oysters
4
3
2
1
0
Charles Histograms
NORMALIZED HISTOGRAMS
1.2
1
0.8
MAY 2010
AUG 2010
SEPT 2010
0.6
0.4
0.2
SIZE
massoyster.org
97
10
0
91
94
85
88
79
82
73
76
67
70
61
64
55
58
49
52
43
46
37
40
31
34
25
28
19
22
0
massoyster.org
Date
9/26/2010
9/19/2010
9/12/2010
9/5/2010
8/29/2010
8/22/2010
8/15/2010
8/8/2010
8/1/2010
7/25/2010
7/18/2010
7/11/2010
7/4/2010
6/27/2010
6/20/2010
6/13/2010
Temperature F
Temperature Comparisons
Temperature Comparison Dorchester and Charles
80
75
70
65
Dorchester Malibu Bay
60
Charles River
55
50
45
As an organization we are
seeking
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To generate meaningful data.
To optimize the way we place oysters
We are limited to one location that may not be
the best
 We have some history and learnings
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To publicize our work and shape the
discussion through scientific meetings and
the web.
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Website, blog, slideshare, (nitrogen paper)
massoyster.org
Open Questions
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Will we have enough adult oysters in 2011 to obtain a set
and see reproduction?
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Will we be able to solve the predation challenge?
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If we do get a set, will the spat be able to settle and grow
successfully?
Will the population be at Critical Mass?
Placing spat on shell in 2011Placing the oysters loosely when larger and even more
carefully?
Will MSX limit the lifespans of our oysters?
Will we continue to be able to obtain regulatory
approval?
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Continue at current site?
Begin in other locations?
massoyster.org
General Reflections
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People like what we do
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We are changing the way people view the harbor.
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Recognize that it is coming back vital.
We are getting people in/on the harbor.
We have had no problems with pilferage or vandalism.
Our biggest challenge to expanding the program is the
Division of Marine Fisheries
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Intuitively it makes sense- people get it.
It is a natural, green solution to the problem
Attracting funds has not been hard- we have turned down
$54,000 in grant funding to date.
Concerns about the temping hazard problem
FDA cloud of concern
Focus on steamer clams
We need to work more on a national basis to help set the
policy and agenda.
massoyster.org
Questions
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