Quogue Stewardship Site Update
Our Quogue Stewardship Site is special because the spat-on-shell oysters get an extra boost of growth in our modified Restoration Raft before being planted at the reef site located in the cove off the Quogue Field Club.
Suffolk County Department of Public Works has granted us permission to secure the raft to the Post Lane bridge each growing season. At this location on the edge of the navigation channel, the tide moves at an amazing rate — and with fast water comes fast oyster growth!
When our Southold hatchery is ready for the spat-on-shell to be moved out of their tanks, we transfer them into a hanging tray system. These trays are stocked relatively lightly to allow the oysters extra space to grow and not outcompete each other (and to save our backs, as they can get pretty heavy!). The trays are loaded into CCE Marine’s skiff and trailered down to Quogue.
It’s not an easy site to access, but it does make a difference. For example, when we first stocked the raft in mid-June the average oyster spat size from the tank was 3mm, and when we pulled them from the raft for our first reef planting in early July the average oyster spat size jumped up to 20mm. In comparison, the same batch of spat-on-shell that stayed in the tank during that same stretch of time had only grown to an average size of 7mm — a difference of 13mm of growth between the tank and the raft!
Thanks to our two new seasonal assistants, we were able to complete three rounds of oyster growout in the raft this year. For our first reef planting in July, we had a group of volunteer Stewards join us by land, and the next two plantings were completed by boat. Our first year of utilizing the bridge restoration raft for planting at the Quogue oyster reef site was in 2024. Since then, in total we have planted over 180,000 spat-on-shell oysters at this reef.
Field Assistants, Katie Wetmore and Ava Sheldon, arriving at our floating Restoration Raft, ready to swap out the growing spat-on-shell oysters
Ava and Katie, collecting size and survival data on a volumetric subsample
Boating to access the floating raft near Post Lane Bridge
Cleaning the hanging baskets, which accumulate a diversity of natural aquatic organisms
Transporting the cages and collected spat-on-shell oysters ready for planting on the reef
Leading up to our final Quogue reef planting this year, the Back to the Bays team held a fantastic hands-on outreach event at the Shinnecock Yacht Club in August. We had a great group of incredibly engaged and supportive community members come to learn about the value of oyster reefs, and they all asked excellent questions. We look forward to doing more education and outreach events with them in the future!
We are grateful to all of our private donors, the Quogue Association, and the Southampton Water Quality Improvement Program. Their support has allowed us to significantly expand our oyster restoration work at this site and we look forward to continuing to track its growth and success.
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It was a magnificent day On the Water + In the Field!