Quogue Oyster Reef Monitoring
On the water + in the field, with Kate Rossi-Snook (Back to the Bays Aquaculture Specialist) and Kim Barbour (Back to the Bays Director)
On Tuesday, July 15th we ventured out in the rain to monitor the progress and health of our Quogue Oyster Reef, which is celebrating it’s 1st birthday this summer! Our first round of spat-on-shell oysters were deployed at the end of last summer, 2024. And with a new batch waiting in the wings, we wanted to collect some initial scientific data to see how our first planting at this location is doing. We also checked on and cleaned our new round of SOS oyster, growing steady in our Quogue Restoration Raft.
Kate Rossi-Snook and Kim Barbour heading out to monitor the reef
On this early morning, with poor visibility, we launched our new inflatable tender from Shinnecock Yacht Club boat ramp, trying to catch our reef during a receding tide for greater accessibility.
Kim stayed on board to help record data and ensure safety, while Kate snorkeled in the reef, collecting data using a square foot quadrat method to take population counts and growth measurements.
Even before analyzing the data, we could tell that this reef is thriving!
Kate with a full grown oyster from last year’s reef planting
After calculations back at the lab, we extrapolated that our 2024 pilot reef is supporting nearly 1,700 live oysters with an average size of 89mm (range from 59-122mm). At last summer’s planting (8/13/24), the average size was 34mm. Now, after just 1 year of growth, they have more than doubled in shell height are the size of full adults! This is excellent news for the next round of spat-on-shell oysters. There is a scheduled planting coming up this Tuesday, July 22nd, and a second deployment planned in August.
While in the water, Kate also retrieved the 2024 temperature logger, which will contribute to our long term data set. Sediment samples were taken from the edge of reef site, a new monitoring protocol added this year based on eelgrass methodology from our Habitat Team. We will be examining grain size and sediment composition, including percent organics, to determine effects on reef health and biodiversity.
Oyster reef growing and filtering underwater
2025 Spat-on-Shell growing strong in the Restoration Raft
After monitoring the oyster reef, we proceeded to our Restoration Raft, which was loaded with SOS back in June, to perform maintenance. We pulled up the hanging stacks of trays, scrubbed them with brushes and buckets of water to remove natural fouling, and loosen the oysters from the sides of the trays. Another healthy looking batch of spat-on-shell, building beautiful sculptures that are already providing shelter for crabs and juvenile fish. We returned the oysters to the raft to continue growing, headed back to the ramp, packed away the boat, and took ourselves home to get ourselves cleaned up!
Thanks as always to our Quogue Stewardship Site partners, stewards, and supporters!
~ Kate and Kim
