Oyster Reef Deployment at Tiana Bayside Facility
On August 8th, along with our community of Stewards, we deployed another oyster reef - this time, in our Tiana Bayside Shellfish Sanctuary in Hampton Bays. Lead by Aquaculture Specialist, Kate Rossi-Snook, and joined by fellow educators Carolyn Munaco, Donovan Bauman, and Sam Olweck, our dedicated volunteer Stewards set out to build upon our existing oyster reef, supported by The Town of Southampton Community Preservation Fund.
Once abundant throughout our bays, these restored oyster reefs, provide a wide array of ecosystem services. Oysters filter water as they feed on phytoplankton, helping to control harmful algae blooms. Oysters raised as spat-on-shell naturally cement together as they grow, forming three dimensional habitat structure for marine invertebrates and juvenile fish, and helping to prevent erosion.
Kate Rossi-Snook, Aquaculture Specialist, teaches our Stewards about the importance of oyster reef and how CCE Marine produces spat-on-shell oysters in our hatchery.
Bags of CCE raised spat-on-shell oysters were transported to Hampton Bays from our remote setting tank on Shelter Island. SOS are produced by spawning adult oysters and allowing the microscopic swimming larvae to settle on existing clean shell.
Before the deployment, we measured and recorded the average size and abundance of oyster spat set on our shell. Carolyn, Sam, and Kate prepped buckets full of spat-on-shell for stewards to distribute. Kate walked out into the bay and set up a buoy marker so we can monitor the oyster reef in the future.
After the buoy was placed, staff members and stewards waded into the water at low tide to distribute buckets of spat-on-shell oysters. In total, we planted over 13,000 oysters, starting with an average starting size of 9mm. This brings our running total from 2022-2025 to 200,000+ oysters, set on 114 cubic feet of recycled shell deployed in Tiana Bay.
Two middle school teachers enjoy giving back to the community and environment before the busy school year starts up again.
Our large turnout of stewards and gorgeous weather made the event lively and meaningful. We are always delighted to see our community members take part in Back to the Bays’ efforts to restore our local marine environment.
Back to the Bays is currently piloting a classroom program, called Reef Raisers, which allows students to observe and care for live spat-on-shell oysters right in their own classrooms! Contact Science and Engagement Manager, Hazel Wodehouse at hew57@cornell.edu, for more information.
Kate has also been monitoring this site and the previous plantings from 2022-2024 are looking healthy and full of large adult oyster clusters, filling in to form a reef. Check back for a separate blog with underwater monitoring footage from our Hampton Bays Stewardship Site.
Thank you, as always, to our Hampton Bays Stewardship Site partners, sponsors, and stewards!