2026 Oyster Reef Restoration at Tiana Bayside
2026 marked the 5th consecutive year of planting spat-on-shell oysters at our Hampton Bays Stewardship Site.
A devoted group of volunteer Stewards made up of student and adult community members gathered at our Tiana Bayside Facility for a stewardship session to support the expansion of our oyster reef. They helped us count and measure the developing spat (juvenile oysters) before wading out together to plant them in the bay. Based on 1-liter subsample counts, we estimate that over 68,000 oysters set onto 425 L of recycled shell material were added to the oyster reef this year. Initiated in 2022, CCE Marine has now planted a total of nearly 281,000 spat-on-shell oysters within the Tiana Sanctuary!
Back to the Bays Stewards helping to measure and count spat-on-shell oysters before deployment
The Southampton Trustees first designated this 5-acre area of Tiana as a sanctuary in 2017 in conjunction with a Town Community Preservation Fund WQIP grant supporting CCE Marine’s eelgrass, clam, scallop, and oyster reef restoration efforts, along with the establishment of our Back to the Bays Tiana Bayside Facility. In 2025 the Trustees renewed and expanded the sanctuary to include an area that extends to the shoreline. This expansion allows us to better engage the community in our oyster reef plantings by being able to walk out into the bay rather than planting the oysters by boat.
Thanks to all who came out to help and support the effort, including Southampton Town Community Preservation Director Jacqueline Fenlon, CPF Senior Environmental Analyst Emily Efstration, and Jimmy Mack, President of the Southampton Town Trustees.
Transferring the spat-on-shell to the water’s edge for deployment on our restoration reef
Why restore oyster reefs?
As they grow, filtering algae from our bay water, oysters cement together forming 3-dimension reef structures that provide habitat for local species, and protect shorelines from erosion.
We are grateful for the generous support from our Hampton Bays Stewardship community and for the Town of Southampton’s continued commitment to water quality and coastal habitat improvement.
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