The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

There's A Pearl In Our Oyster Work

The eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) has historically played a vital role in the ecology of Great Bay Estuary. As many as 1,000 acres of live oyster reef may have covered the estuary in1970, but now over 90% of oysters are lost due to pollution, harvest, and disease. Without oysters, Great Bay Estuary is lacking the natural filtration capacity to maintain healthy eelgrass beds as nitrogen and siltation increase.

The Nature Conservancy and The University of New Hampshire, with others, are scaling-up efforts to restore local oyster reefs. We re-build reefs to clean the water and provide fish habitat. Since we work in areas closed to harvest, the new reefs are sanctuaries for spawning oysters in the Bay.

From the volunteer oyster conservationists who raise young spat in cages off their docks to the scientists who reconstruct historic reef sites for the juvenile oysters to call home, our approach literally takes a village. Below are just a few of our many stories!

The oyster reef construction at the mouth of the Squamscott River has recently been featured in local and regional newspapers.  Check out coverage by New Hampshire Public Radio, as well as in the Union Leader, Seacoast Online and Fosters Daily Democrat.