Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Project

 


The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary is a member of the Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Task Force, a coalition of organizations working to revitalize the fledgling oyster population of Delaware Bay. Other key members of the restoration group include: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Rutgers University’s Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, Delaware River Basin Commission, Delaware State University's College of Agriculture and Related Sciences, the Delaware River and Bay Authority, Cumberland Empowerment Zone Corporation, Delaware Bay Section of the Shell Fisheries Council, Delaware Shellfish Advisory Council, and Commercial Township, New Jersey.

During the summer of 2005, the Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Task Force initiated a large-scale oyster shell-planting and transplant program that, by 2009, had deposited over 2.1 million bushels of shell onto existing oyster reefs. These "seed beds" are needed because oyster larvae require a clean, hard surface upon which they can attach or "recruit." This effort has yielded a substantial increase in survival among juveniles; this, despite a population decline in areas outside the seed beds.

The success of this project has earned it a 2008 Coastal America Partnership Award, a 2009 gold medal from the Federal Executive Board, and a 2008 Government Award from the Water Resources Association of the Delaware River Basin (PDF files).

This project was funded by a 2005 Congressional appropriation and, since then, it has received additional federal funding, the grand total of which currently stands at $5 million.

  

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Official logo of the Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Project

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of our Coastal America
Partnership Award Ceremony
Juvenile oysters, or "spat," that have attached or "recruited" to an oyster shell
Oyster larvae, or "spat," require a clean, hard surface upon which they can attach or "recruit." Due to a shortage of these natural resources, the Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Task Force has "planted," or strategically placed, a combination of surf clam, ocean quahog, and Maryland oyster shell in Delaware Bay.

Photo Credit: Bayshore Discovery Project
 

Oyster Stats
Year
Shell Planted
2005 280,000 bushels
2006 505,500 bushels
2007 681,500 bushels
2008 427,000 bushels
2009 237,000 bushels
Once baby oysters, or "larvae," have attached to clean shell, they can then be transplanted farther north in Delaware Bay, where they stand a better chance of reaching market size thanks to fewer predators. These activities are subsidized in part by landing taxes paid by oyster harvesters in both states.


Why Oysters?

For centuries, oysters have provided a sustainable food supply and contributed to the economies of Delaware and New Jersey communities. In fact, 1 to 2 million bushels were harvested every year during the 1930s, when the population initially began to decline. The introduction of the oyster disease MSX in the 1950s, followed in the 1990s by a second disease, Dermo, has resulted in a significant decline in the oyster population. Consequently, the industry has been imperiled.

The oyster population rebounded somewhat by 2000 due to the combined efforts of both states and the oyster industry, producing some 100,000 bushels per year. Today, however, the oyster population is feeling the effects of five years of below-average biological recruitment for unknown reasons. Over time, the shell-planting and transplant program could increase production to approximately 200,000 to 400,000 bushels per year, with a possible economic impact of up to $60 million between the two states. This is money that would not only revitalize the oyster population in the future, but also many coastal communities dependent upon the living resource.

For more information on the Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Project, please read our brochure (PDF file), 2008 update (PDF file), and past press releases. You can also contact Dr. Eric Powell of Rutgers University’s Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory at (856) 785-0074, extension 4300. For more insight into the history of Delaware Bay oysters, please read the PDE's spring 2005 issue of Estuary News, as well as our oyster fact sheet (PDF file). And for additional insight into the Delaware Estuary's other living resources, please click here.