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Anne Birch is The Nature Conservancy's program director for the Indian River Lagoon system in Florida, where she has organized thousands of volunteers to help restore oyster reefs. The 156-mile system is considered to be the most biologically diverse estuary in North America, supporting more than 3,000 species of animals and plants.
See a photo slideshow of the oyster reef restoration project.
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As seen on CNN
See an interview with Anne Birch on the role of oysters in the Indian River Lagoon.
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By Judy Althaus
From Florida to Canada, Atlantic bays and estuaries once boasted some of the world’s best oyster reefs. Today oyster reefs are among the most imperiled of all marine habitats.
The Nature Conservancy is restoring oyster reefs in the knee-deep waters of Indian River Lagoon, part of Florida’s Canaveral National Seashore and one of the most biologically diverse estuaries in North America.
The project involves thousands of volunteers making oyster mats that then provide nursery grounds for new oyster growth.
Nature.org spoke with Anne Birch, the Conservancy’s Indian River Lagoon program director, about this amazing project and why the oysters have captivated so many people.
Nature.org: What are “oyster mats” and how do they help restore reefs?
Anne Birch: Oyster reefs face a variety of threats such as overharvesting, disease, and pollution. In Indian River Lagoon, we’re restoring reefs that have been damaged by boat traffic.
We are working with Dr. Linda Walters from the University of Central Florida. She found that over time, the constant wave energy from boat wakes will dislodge oysters from nearby reefs. They tumble into each other and eventually form “dead margins,” or barren islands made up of oyster shells.
An oyster mat is a simple solution: take a sheet of environmentally safe mesh, tie oyster shells to it and weight it to the bottom of the lagoon. The mats attract free-floating oyster larvae, which then settle and produce the backbone of a healthy reef within as little as a year’s time. And the mats are not dislodged by boat wakes.
Nature.org: Who makes all these oyster mats?
Anne Birch: Thousands of individuals have volunteered. We’ve had every group imaginable help out — from school kids to fishermen to the Red Hat Society. We hold several volunteer events for community groups each month, and students from fifth grade through college age make oyster mats in class and discuss the oyster’s role in nature.
Nature.org: What have you accomplished so far?
Anne Birch: The restoration began in 2005 with joint funding from the Conservancy and NOAA’s Community-Based Restoration Program. Since then, more than 9,200 volunteers have hand-tied oyster shells onto 8,200 environmentally safe mesh mats that have restored about 20 acres of reefs in the lagoon. The mats were placed in the water at prepared sites, and attached together to form a huge welcome mat.
We monitor the reefs regularly and results have been excellent! All 20 of our restored reefs have juvenile oysters settled on them. Three of them now have seagrass growing right up to their margins, connecting them with shoreline mangroves to create a perfect, natural ecosystem.
Nature.org: Is it hard work? Have you run into any challenges?
Anne Birch: Deploying these mats in the lagoon is messy and hot work, but volunteers love working in a stunning setting while dolphins and osprey feed around us. Volunteers have reef-naming rights, and one reef was dubbed “Sirenia” in honor of a visiting manatee.
The logistics alone — gathering materials, preparing shells, cutting mats, organizing weekly volunteer events, getting folks into boats and out to the sites — were a big challenge. Then we have saltwater complications, such as rusty tools. And, volunteers have to be out on the water all day with no restroom facilities.
A challenge that we didn’t foresee was how backbreaking it is to rake down the dead margins to prepare a site for its oyster mats. This was solved when partners donated the use of a floating backhoe that raked 12 sites in two days; the job would have taken volunteers two years! This will speed up our restoration of an additional eight acres next year.
Nature.org: Why did so many people come out to volunteer? What was the point of all this effort?
Anne Birch: Never underestimate the appeal of the oyster or the power of the community! The grey oyster is actually a very charismatic critter. We found ourselves surrounded by curious people with oyster stories to tell, and they all wanted to help.
Florida’s coastal communities “get it” about how reefs filter water and stabilize shorelines. A healthy ecosystem — made of oyster reefs, seagrasses and mangroves — offers prime nurseries for fish, crab and shrimp, and together these provide food for many other critters.
Oysters were once seen as only a commodity, something that people ate, and they still are in many areas. But oyster reefs provide valuable ecosystem services.
Nature.org: Can the lessons learned in Florida be applied at other locations?
Anne Birch: They certainly could, and we would like to test the oyster mat system in other areas. We’re using different methods in northeast Florida, the Loxahatchee River and the Gulf Coast area. The Conservancy communicates with others doing similar work; we share methods, pros and cons, success or failure. It’s an excellent way to go global with a local project.
Judy Althaus is a conservation writer with The Nature Conservancy in Florida.
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Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Ron Brockmeyer, SJRWMD (restored oyster reef); Photo © SJRWMD (Anne Birch); Anne Birch/TNC (volunteers making oyster mats).
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