NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Oct. 8, 2009
Vol. 39, No. 402
Contact: Richard Cole, Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Project, Division of Fish and Wildlife, 302-739-4782; or Melanie Rapp, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.
Delaware Bay oyster
restoration honored
by the White House
DNREC created new habitat on
241 acres of natural oyster beds
The Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Project was honored with a Coastal America Partnership Award during a bayside ceremony organized by the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary at the University of Delaware’s Coast Day festival in Lewes. The award is the only environmental award of its kind given by the White House.
The award recognized the partnership efforts of Delaware and New Jersey organizations that successfully provided oyster habitat that will help restore and stabilize the oyster population in the Delaware Bay. The multi-agency task force strategically planted 2.1 million bushels of clam and oyster shells onto historic reefs in Delaware Bay, thanks to $5 million in federal funding.
At the ceremony, Coastal America Director, Virginia Tippie and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Policy and Legislation) Terrence Salt presented Secretary Collin O’Mara with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control plaque, certificates and task force congratulatory letters from President Barack Obama.
"The Delaware Bay is a recreational treasure and an economic engine for our region," said Secretary O’Mara at the ceremony. "The Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Project supports both the ecological restoration of our native oyster and the revitalization of our commercial oyster industry. The project’s outstanding success reflects the close cooperation between New Jersey, Delaware and all partners and the dedicated commitment to improving the health and sustainability of the Delaware Bay."
For centuries, oysters have provided a sustainable food supply and contributed to the economies of Delaware and New Jersey communities. During the 1930’s, more than one million bushels were harvested every year from the Delaware Bay. However, in the 1950’s and again in the 1990’s the oyster population was plagued by parasites that nearly caused the industry to disappear. Over the years, oyster populations were further reduced by the shortage of natural surfaces for oysters to attach or “recruit” and grow.
The Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Task Force, a collaborative partnership of 12 public and private agencies from Delaware and New Jersey, was formed in 2005 to leverage and combine resources to provide new oyster habitat and enhance the survival of the oyster populations in the bay.
The project successfully stabilized shell losses from the oyster beds and substantially increased the survival of juvenile oysters. The bay-wide projected quota for oysters reared in 2008 is the third highest since the mid-1980’s, and the estimated economic impact to the industry of the 2007 fiscal-year program alone is $90 million – estimated at $40 for every federal dollar invested.
DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife manages Delaware’s state-owned natural oyster beds, and task force members, Rick Cole, Michael Greco, and Mike Garvilla, planted approximately one million bushels of shell on 241 acres of natural oyster beds in Delaware waters. The scientists monitored planting operations to ensure that the shell was planted in the best locations to achieve maximum oyster larvae or “spat” attachments. They continued to monitor the sites after spawning season to document the level of spat retention and compare it to sites that were not planted with shell.
DNREC’s monitoring program determined that oyster spat recruitment on Delaware’s natural oyster beds has increased six fold in those sites that were planted with shell in 2007-2008. The scientists found that the amount of shell being replaced on the beds has returned to equilibrium levels – after at least a decade of shell loss. The findings indicate that improvements in habitat conditions from the shell plantings have increased oyster abundance in those areas.
For more information on DNREC’s oyster restoration project, visit www.fw.delaware.gov/Fisheries. Coastal America is a partnership of federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations whose mission it is to protect, preserve, and restore the nation’s coasts. For more information, visit www.CoastalAmerica.gov.
