Oyster-bed restoration project to create new habitat for oysters, fish along Texas Coast

Nature Conservancy deposits oyster shell into shallow water as pilot project

[Editors: Project map and photographs of oysters being blown into the bay may be downloaded below.]

CORPUS CHRISTI — April 29, 2008 — As part of a pilot project to restore ecologically important oyster beds that are in decline in the Gulf of Mexico, The Nature Conservancy deposited 200 cubic yards of oyster shell into the shallow waters of Copano Bay on Monday. This is part of an effort to create new shelter for oysters and other marine animals, including juvenile sport fish, that depend on shell reefs. The mound of shells was carried into the bay on a 30-foot barge and blown into shallow water with a fire hose within a one-acre patch where an oyster bed previously existed.


Image 1 - Caption: Mark Dumesnil, Nature Conservancy upper Gulf Coast program manager, blow oyster shell into Copano Bay with a fire hose to restore oyster reefs for oysters and fish. Photo © Mark Gagliano (JPG) Image 2- Caption: Oyster shells are blown into Copano Bay from a barge in The Nature Conservancy's oyster-reef restoration pilot project. Photo © Mark Dumesnil/The Nature Conservancy (JPG) Image 3 - Caption: A barge bearing 200 cubic yards of oyster shell is towed into Copano Bay for a Nature Conservancy project to restore ecologically important oyster reefs. Photo © Mark Dumesnil/The Nature Conservancy (JPG)		Project Map - Copano Bay Oyster Reef Restoration (PDF) Learn more about our Marine Conservation: Shellfish Restoration Network

“Oysters have been in serious decline since the 1980s in Texas, in part due to pressure from commercial fishing but also because of shell dredging for use as roadbed material and in making concrete,” said Rafael Calderon, director of The Nature Conservancy’s Gulf of Mexico Program.

Oyster beds provide important habitat for many other species, from invertebrates to juvenile fish, including many sport fish vital to the state’s recreation revenues, Calderon said. They are filter-feeders, filtering up to six gallons of salt water an hour each. They consume plankton – tiny microscopic plants and animals found in the water – and play an important role in maintaining good water quality in bays and estuaries.

Local fishing guide James Fox was on hand Monday in Copano Bay to watch the oyster shells being deposited in the water. A native of Rockport, he operates James Fox Guide Services from San Antonio Bay to Estes Flats in Redfish Bay. “Any kind of restoration project like this helps both commercial and recreational fishing,” he said. “Whenever you create new habitat, it helps in the long run. I’d like to see more projects like this that enhance the habitat, including oyster bed restoration and seagrass restoration.”

In 2006, the oyster harvest in Texas amounted to 4.9 million pounds and generated $17 million in sales, according to data compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Texas Department of Agriculture estimates that the annual oyster harvest has a $50 million impact on the state’s economy through packers, shippers and related industries. TDA reports that Texas produces the second-largest oyster catch in the United States and accounts for 13 percent of the nation’s total production.

The Nature Conservancy’s oyster-reef restoration project is being funded in part by grants from NOAA, the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program and BP America. Project partners include the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the University of Texas Marine Science Institute.

Copano Bay has been designated a National Estuarine Research Reserve by NOAA. As part of the project, a study will be conducted to compare the filtration rates of mature, recently restored and newly restored oyster beds. The study will help provide an estimate of oyster-bed restoration needs in Texas and throughout the Gulf of Mexico in the coming years.

This project is part of The Nature Conservancy’s Shellfish Restoration Network,
with Conservancy staff working in multiple locations throughout the coastal United States to restore reefs for shellfish.

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The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 18 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 117 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at nature.org. In the Lone Star State, The Nature Conservancy of Texas owns more than 30 nature preserves and conservation projects and assists private landowners to conserve their land through more than 100 voluntary land-preservation agreements. The Nature Conservancy of Texas protects some 250,000 acres of wild lands and, with partners, has conserved 750,000 acres for wildlife habitat across the state. Visit The Nature Conservancy of Texas on the Web at nature.org/texas.