Massachusetts Oyster Project

Shellfish Aquaculture Class- B & G Oysters Offers Focused Events

2012-01-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

Shellfish Aquaculture Course in RI

Dale Leavitt is a well-respected person in the field and this is a great opportunity to learn about the field.

Roger Williams University to Offer Practical Shellfish Farming Course - Non-credit course will teach shellfish farming basics to local residents

BRISTOL, R.I., November 29, 2011 – The Roger Williams University Center for Economic and Environmental Development today announced it is presently enrolling students to its non-credit course in Practical Shellfish Farming for the winter 2012 semester. This course will provide interested individuals the technical information needed to confidently undertake a small shellfish farming enterprise in Rhode Island and nearby areas of southern New England. All aspects of shellfish farming, from the broodstock to the market, will be covered over the twelve-week course. Students will learn the basic principles of hatchery, nursery and grow-out operations; as well as risk management, siting and permitting, and business management.

Associate Professor and Aquaculture Extension Specialist, Dr. Dale Leavitt, will instruct the course which will be held on the Bristol, R.I. campus of Roger Williams University. The course will consist of a minimum of twelve classes, which will be held on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The class will commence on Jan. 11, 2011 and run through April 18, 2011, weather permitting. The fee for the entire twelve-week course, including all handout materials, is $120 per student. Students may attend classes on a drop-in basis at a rate of $10 per evening session. Pre-registration is preferred by contacting Cheryl Francis at (401) 254-3110 or cfrancis@rwu.edu, or Dale Leavitt at dleavitt@rwu.edu.

Session topics and dates are as follows:

Date Discussion Topics
11 Jan Introductions and shellfish aquaculture overview
18 Jan Shellfish Biology
25 Jan Shellfish Growout Systems I – Oysters
1 Feb Shellfish Growout Systems II – Quahogs & other Clams
8 Feb Shellfish Growout Systems III – Scallops & Mussels
15 Feb Shellfish Nursery Systems I
22 Feb Shellfish Nursery Systems II
29 Feb Site Selection, Permitting and Regulations
7 Mar Risks to Growing Shellfish I - Predators
14 Mar Spring Break – no class
21 Mar Risks to Growing Shellfish II - Diseases
28 Mar National Shellfisheries Association Meeting – no class
4 Apr Shellfish Business Management
11 Apr Shellfish Hatchery Techniques I (optional)
18 Apr Shellfish Hatchery Techniques II (optional)

B&G Offering Food Focused Classes

Inspired by the food, beverage, and hospitality education offered to our teams, the south end eateryB&G is inviting its favorite oyster farmers, wine importers, and culinary professionals to spend an afternoon sharing their expertise through talks, tastes, and sips during delicious, informative Master Classes. Master Classes will be held from

3:00-4:00 pm and cost $35 per person (the Pairing Shellfish with Wine class will be $50).

The Chef's Table

During our Chef's Tables, guests will embark on lunch hour armchair travel to bivalve-rich regions from Cape Cod to Chesapeake Bay, with discussion and dining guided by a B&G team member or visiting expert. Held on Thursdays at 1 pm and limited to eight guests for an intimate atmosphere, each Chef's Table will be $45 per person, including an appetizer, entrée, and glass of wine selected to illustrate the afternoon's topic of discussion.

January

THURSDAY JANUARY 12th: MASTER CLASS

Beers of the Eastern Seaboard

Brews for Bivalves and Beyond:

Join craft beer specialists, Adam Burnham and Derek Whitaker, of Atlantic Imports, for an afternoon of Suds and Seafood. We’ll sample the East Coast’s best and most creative brews, from Delaware’s Dogfish Head to New Hampshire’s White Birch Brewing.

THURSDAY JANUARY 19th: CHEF’S TABLE

A Tour of the Mid Atlantic

Once known as the “breadbasket colonies” the States of the mid-Atlantic cover the dairy farms and orchards of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the seafood-rich shores of Maryland and Delaware, the potato and peanut farms of Virginia. Accompany B&G Sous-Chef Matt Garland on a table-side tour of this historic and bountiful region.

THURSDAY JANUARY 26th: CHEF’S TABLE

Chesapeake Classics

Forty fresh water rivers flow into the expansive Chesapeake Bay, making it home to a myriad of aquatic creatures: oysters, blue crabs, stripers and more. Spectacular seafood became the defining culinary signature of Baltimore and its surrounding shores. Join General Manager, Jen Pieters, for a nostalgic luncheon of Chesapeakefavorites, including Maryland Crab Cakes and Atlantic Rockfish.

The classes will continue into May with many of the later ones focused on more local areas including Rhode Island and the Cape. . Here is a link to learn more.

Washington State Embraces Shellfish-- Great Evolving Map of Boston- Starting Oyster Shell Recycling

2012-01-06T07:35:00.000-08:00

Washington State Embraces Shellfish with New Initiative

Recently, Governor Chris Gregoire has unveiled the Washington Shellfish Initiative, an agreement among federal and state government, tribes, and the shellfish industry to restore and expand Washington’s shellfish resources to promote clean-water commerce. We have reviewed the document on-line and it is a multi-participant effort that includes restoration, environmental improvement, and environmental research.

Washington’s aquaculture industry – farmed clams, mussels and oysters – is worth more than $107 million a year. The industry employs more than 3,200 people and pumps more than $270 million annually into the state economy.

Participating organizations include NOAA, the EPA, State Government, the US Geologic Survey and the Army Corps of Engineers. Work is already under way to improve water quality and protect critical habitat. The Puget Sound Partnership’s goal is a net increase of 10,800 harvestable shellfish acres in Puget Sound – including 7,000 acres where harvest is currently prohibited.

One important piece of this is that they are going to be studying water quality and the impact of shellfish. While their benefit is generally accepted as a fact, there are still some skeptics including those in our own state's regulatory bodies, who question this. In some ways the causal relationship between oysters and improving water quality is like proving that smoking causes cancer. It is a long arduous process to demonstrate the link and prove what is intuitively obvious.

Congratulations to Students Working with MOP

Wellesley College Freshman Nicole Lobodzinski who completed her Freshman science project looking at oysters and the impact of acidic conditions on their health. Nicole is a California native who volunteered at our October oyster placement event. We supplied her with oysters for her experiment. She is looking forward to a career in aquatic sciences.

UMass Marine Sciences Grad Student Ben Wetherilll asked us for some information for a GIS mapping project looking for sites with habitat that are conducive to oysters. You can see his work here.

Serving as an educational/career development tool for young people was not a goal at our founding, but it has turned out to be a particularly rewarding piece of it.

Great Evolving Map of Boston

While searching for information on Margaret Jones- the first Massachusetts witch executed in 1640 in Charlestown and Alice Thomas the colonial "Mass Bay Madam," I came across this terrific map that shows the evolution and filling around the Boston Peninsula. Among other interesting features it shows the filling of the Mill Pond around 1800 and the enclosure of Fort Point Channel. When you go to the site, click on history and you can watch the video as a loop or frame by frame.

Oyster Shell Recycling Growing

We have begun moving recycling oyster shell in East Boston in space loaned to MOP by a local businessman. As we refine our processes, we will seek to recycle oyster from MOP events and potentially area restaurants. For now, we are keeping it as a small facility as we learn how best to manage the process. Oyster shell needs to be stored for a year before it can be used for either a base layer for placing live oysters on top or for serving as medium for growing spat upon it. In upcoming weeks we will have a representative meeting with the New York New Jersey Oyster Restoration Partenership to learn of their recycling effort.

There also is a growing program on Martha's Vineyard. Below is information on an upcoming meeting they will be holding later this month.

Our Shell Resource: Shell Recycling on Martha's Vineyard
When: Saturday January 21, 2012, 11:00am-2:00pm
Where: Wakeman Center, Lamberts Cove Road, Vineyard Haven, MA.

The Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group will host an informative community workshop to explore the ideas and challenges of shell recycling on the Vineyard. What benefits does shell bring to our pond ecosystems? How may shell recycling impact the Vineyard refuse stream? How can businesses and citizens get involved?

Special guest Stephan Abel, Executive Director of the Maryland Oyster Recovery Partnership will attend and present about successful shell recycling in the Chesapeake area. Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group Director Rick Karney, and Emma Green-Beach of the Marine Biological Laboratory will talk about the importance of shell in marine ecosystems and Jessica Kanozak will report on the progress of the first year of the Martha's Vineyard Shell Recovery Partnership. The workshop will conclude with a panel brainstorming ways to expand the program and make it sustainable. Come to this FREE workshop. Join the discussion. Contribute to this developing initiative. Coffee & light lunch provided. For more information please contact Rick Karney at mvsg@comcast.net.

MOP Hat in San Diego

This photo of a gentleman wearing the MOP hat was sent in by one of our volunteers. He is standing in front of the historic landmark del Coronado Hotel.

Early Map of Entrance to the Charles Shows Modest Change, Oysters in Health

2011-12-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

1880 Map of Boston Shows Modest Change at Mouth of Charles

People often ask us how we know oysters will live at the mouth of the Charles when so much has changed in the ecosystem since Colonial times. Well, we don't know for sure. But we have done a fair amount of research to establish the extensive prevalence of oysters in the historic record. And the Charles River has changed a great deal. While the extensive fill of the Back Bay is widely known and talked about, there also was extensive fill on the Cambridge side as well.

This interesting map from the University of Texas Library Maps Room popped up on StumbleUpon. The Map shows the outline and contours of Colonial Boston and the Boston and the outline of 1880. The area around the mouth of the Charles where the oyster pilot is had seen modest changes. Our oysters are in the vicinity of the bridge that is furthest to the right. The bridges have moved and North End Beach has been filled in and now has a pool. This area also has a hockey rink, athletic fields and boccie courts. (There are two interesting asides here. One is that the famous molasses flood occurred in this spot in 1919 when a huge tank of the sticky liquid burst and drowned 21 people. And the famous Brinks Job Heist took place in a still standing parking garage on the corner of Prince and Commercial Street.)

Below is a 1922 map of the North End from the Bromley Atlas. This image came from Community Heritage Maps. You can still see the North End Beach marked clearly in green. At low tide you can still see a sandy spit of bottom off of the seawall in this location.

The other major change is the conversion of the Charles River basin with the construction of the lower Charles River Dam in 1978. The dam is managed such that water upstream of it is kept fresh although a plume of salt water on the bottom can sometimes creep far up river in during the summer months. How this affects the dynamics of the tidal flows is hard to say, (although it probably would make up an interesting engineering/consulting interview question.)


Plaque from the Lower Charles River Dam. Today this dam is to the right of the bridge that is second from the right in the map above. The remnants of that bridge can be seen when walking across the locks at the dam.

So, we have the feeling that the topography and the tide levels have not changed dramatically. The water flows and salinity may have shifted somewhat, but exactly how is hard to say.

Premium Fitness Website Service Profiles Oysters Favorably

There is a new fast-growing website for physical fitness buffs called InsideTracker that uses a host of blood markers to help people manage their diets to maximize athletic performance and physical age. They gave oysters a favorable review.

Oysters are truly a wonder of the world when it comes to nutrition. They may be small, but are packed with tons of nutritious value and can be prepared in almost any way. Oysters are a good source of Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Protein, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Iron, Zinc, Copper, Manganese and Selenium. Overall, for as small as oysters are, they do prove to be extremely beneficial in our diets. However, they are high in sodium and cholesterol.

Mass Oyster Project Hat in London's Underground

MOP Volunteer Chris Yim in the tube.

To order your hat for $15 drop an email to massoyster@gmail.com and we'll arrange to get you one.

Wetlands for Boston’s Fort Point Channel-- MOP Hat Spotted in Washington DC.

2011-11-26T18:53:00.000-08:00

Wetlands for Boston’s Fort Point Channel--

Through the Green Boston Harbor Project we learned that floating wetlands may be introduced into Fort Point Channel in a project with ShiftBoston. This urban water body suffers from numerous urban run-off inflows. MOP has tried to bring water-cleansing oysters to the area for some time and even submitted a petition to the Governor.

We regard this initiative favorably as it brings activity to the area and can have only positive effects. We are anxious to learn more about this exciting project.

To learn more about the area you can view our Fort Point Channel Survey presentation on Slideshare.

Boston's Fort Point Channel- A Photographic Tour

View more presentations from Massachusetts Oyster Project for Clean Water

If you are a student interested in becoming involved, there could be an opportunity for you. Here is the position listing we received.

SHIFTboston is currently seeking one Landscape Architecture and one Architecture student to work with the UMass Boston Green Boston Harbor Project studeent lab as part of a multi-disciplined team to design and implement a biomimetic strategy to improve the environmental conditions of Boston's Fort Point Channel by establishing a floating wetland system.

Tasks include:

- Research and analysis of the Fort Point Channel including its water quality, hydrology, site suitability and modeling.

- Bi-weekly reviews with student lab at Umass Boston GBH.

- Coordination and documentation via email and online conferencing.

The ideal candidate will be:

- A student seeking innovative experience in ecology and biomimetic studies.

- A person who is interested in learning more about the ecology of Boston Harbor and the Fort Point Channel and passionate about improving it.

- A person who works well both independently and within a team. The ideal candidate will also be comfortable working outside his/her area of expertise to both explore new and innovative concepts.

What we give in return for help:

- Free entry to any of our events and competitions.

Attend all of our events and submit to our design competitions for free.

- Internship credits.

We provide IDP and university architectural internship education credits (pending school approval).

- Credit as project team member.

The project is likely to first become an exhibition and then perhaps, implemented. All participants will be included as part of the project team in exhibition and implementation.

To Apply:

Please email a very brief letter outlining your qualifications as they apply to the task and ideal candidate lists above. Please also include your full name, the name of your university, degree and specific area of study. Please email your application to: info@shiftboston.org.

About the Green Boston Harbor Project (GBH):

Our mission is to enhance the coastal ecosystem stewardship through research, education and outreach projects. Our goal is to establish a green urban harbor that lives within ecological and human limits. For more information please visit: www.gbh.umb.edu

Mass Oyster Project in Washington DC.

The pictures keep flowing in. A MOP hat was spotted in front of the Nation’s Capital. Meeting a Celebrity? Visiting a land mark? Join the crew who are sending us photos of their Oyster Hats for the blog.

This young man posed in front of the Capital Building in his Mass Oyster Hat.

Ocean Acidification Recycled Oyster Shell Wellfleet Maine Job Opportunity Ten Lobster Facts

2011-11-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

Ocean Acidification

Ocean acidification is a rising issue and it is reportedly even affecting steamer clams here in New England.

Every day, oceans do us a huge favor by absorbing about a third of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by human activities.

Carbon dioxide lowers the pH of the oceans, causing them to become more acidic and corrosive. The basic chemistry is simple: as seawater at the surface of the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, it forms carbonic acid, the same weak acid found in soda pop. Carbonic acid breaks down into hydrogen ions, which make water more acidic. Seawater is not technically an acid because it measures above 7 on the pH scale, but this excess carbon dioxide shifts the pH of the ocean farther towards the acidic end of the scale.

This reaction also robs the water of carbonate ions, which are important building blocks to many marine creatures including mussels, scallops, corals, sea urchins, barnacles, crabs, and lobsters. Even tiny plankton use carbonate ions to build shells and skeletons. As the concentration of that key building block drops in more acidic seas, those creatures must expend more energy to assemble the calcium carbonate minerals they need. As water grows even more corrosive, the creatures’ protective shells and structures can simply dissolve.

Economically there could be significant impacts as half of the US annual $4 billion in commercial fishing revenue is derived from crustaceans or shellfish.

An environmental group called Siightline put together a nice overview piece on the topic. To see the report that is more geared to the Pacific Northwest click on this link. While it is more targeted for that region, the concepts are valid for here as well.

Recycled Shell at the Wellfleet Oyster Festival

Oyster shell for recycling in Wellfleet Photo by B. Wigren

One of MOP's board members took this photo of the oyster shells that would be recycled at the Wellfleet Oyster Festival. It appears that immediate recycling without a drying period was permitted since the oysters all came from those waters and would not be bringing disease in from a new location. The shell serves two purposes. Many of the shells have spat (small baby oysters) attached to them so they are returning those young ones to grow. And second, the shell can serve as a substrate for spat from next years reproduction to settle on. There is a large and significant volunteer force who makes this happen. Bravo!

Maine Job Opportunity

Mook Sea Farm, located in mid-coast Maine, is looking for a person to take over responsibility for microalgae production in our hatchery. They seek a person who knows sterile technique, clean room operation, and is capable of maintaining axenic cultures on a commercial scale. The position will be salaried and full time. The person hired needs to be a “team player” and will be expected to also help out with other hatchery work, and when the hatchery is not running, to also work on the water.

Send resumes or questions to mooksea@tidewater.net

Ten Interesting Lobster Facts

One of our volunteers is at the School of Journalism at Boston University and they are putting together a web magazine on the water. While Kristen will soon be completing a piece on MOP the other content is very interesting as well. Below is a link to ten lobster facts that she put together. I thought mylobster IQ was fair, but was surprised to find how much more there was to learn.

MOP brings us into contact with divers fairly frequently and one of them who dives for lobsters told me that there seemed to be two types when it comes to the traps. A portion could climb into the trap eat and find their way out. Another portion would go into the trap and be stymied, remaining inside until they were harvested. Here is the question- Is our lobster industry creating an artificial selection process that is making the lobster population smarter by weeding out the less intelligent members?

Ten Lobster Facts

Update on MOP Intern's Summer in Maine-- NJ Oyster Restoration Program Starts Again-- MOP hat spotted in Norway!

2011-10-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

MOP Intern Goes North

Here is an update on Wellesley College student and MOP intern Shira Bleicher's Summer in Maine.

This summer, I continued on my path of conservation biology, and went
up to Maine. I received a National Science Foundation Fellowship to
work at the Mount Desert Island Biological Lab in Bar Harbor, Maine. I
worked in Dr. Jane Disney's lab, on the conservation and restoration
of Zostera marina, or eelgrass, which has faced a hard path similar to
that of oysters in Boston Harbor. The eelgrass is restored to
Frenchmans Bay using a grid system, in which harvested plants are tied
to weighted grids and lowered into the intertidal zone.

Biodegradable Grids

This summer,
the lab as a whole experimented with new biodegradable grids, which
would take out the removal step and cause less damage to the plants
after the restoration. We created the design and made each grid by
hand - this was pretty tough for our 80 grid transplant, and we had a
lot of volunteers from the community to tie plants to grids on the day
of the transplant.

Harvesting 1600 plants was also a time consuming,
back breaking challenge! We'll likely have results about the new grids
next summer.

Shira in the Lab

The lab also conducted water quality tests and red tide
monitoring, in order to ensure the safety of the community around the
bay. Each fellowship student working at the lab had to design and
conduct their own experiment relating to the overall goal of the lab,
so I spent most of my time on that. Elias Peirce, a freshman at
Bowdoin College, and I conducted an experiment that took place at 4AM
out on a lobstering boat! We collected GPS points at each trap, and
recorded everything that came up in each trap. We were able to overlay
this data over eelgrass location data that we had collected in kayaks,
in order to determine whether or not species diversity and abundance
was related to eelgrass. The results are detailed on our poster, but
we found that smaller lobsters are found closer to eelgrass,
indicating its use as a nursery. Kelp also seemed to pop up as an
interesting relation to species counts, and may be a new conservation
target.

We are delighted to see MOP alumni making progress in their careers. Below is photo of a Maine morning taken by Shira. It did not fit with the text but was too beautiful to leave out.

Photo credit Shira Bleicher

NJ Oyster Restoration Program Starts Again

The following encouraging news was sent to us by NY/NJ Baykeeper, who has had a rough ride with regulatory auithorities who removed and destroyed oysters that were part of a restoration program.

NY/NJ Baykeeper placed 18 oyster nets into the water at Naval Weapons Station Earle today, in order to conduct scientific research about the viability of oysters in that area of the Raritan Bay.

In July, 2010, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection banned research, restoration, and education projects using oysters in "contaminated" waters; waters classified as "Restricted" or "Prohibited" for shellfish harvest. The ban ground to a halt NY/NJ Baykeeper's scientific work to test the viability of restoring oysters in the Raritan Bay. Not content to abandon hope for restoring water quality in the Raritan Bay, NY/NJ Baykeeper approached the Navy about placing oyster nets at Naval Weapons Station Earle, which is under 24/7 security, and therefore eliminates any poaching risk.

"We are grateful for Captain Harrison, and his staff at Naval Weapons Station Earle for being a gracious hosts to our team of scientists as they prepare to revive this vital research project," continued Mans. "We hope that NJDEP will overturn its ban on oyster research so that we can expand this scientific work beyond Earle."

While awaiting approval from NJ DEP to place the oysters at Earle, NY/NJ Baykeeper and its volunteers have been growing baby oysters in tanks in space provided by Moby's restaurant in Highlands. The babies were recently counted and measured, and they were placed in tiered oyster nets placed sub-tidally below the pier at Earle. In spring the nets will be removed and the oysters inspected. The results will answer a simple question: can oysters survive a winter in the water at Naval Weapons Station Earle? The answer will guide future oyster research and restoration opportunities.

Back here in New England, the oysters placed by the Mass Oyster Project are within direct line of site of a State Police Marine facility, so hopefully this would allay concerns of poaching within our regulatory authority. Also Boston Harbor is closed to shell fishing with the exception of steamer clams in certain areas under strict regulation, so this further reduces the likelihood of pilferage.

MOP hat spotted in Oslo Norway!

Anupendra Sharma sent us this photo of him with his MOP hat in front of the Opera House in Norway. "The Opera House is one of the most famous buildings in Scandinavia. It is in a beautiful location on the water's edge where fresh (cool) breezes often blow."

MOP hat sited in front of Oslo Opera House

Lobster Talk-- Two Oyster Events-- MOP Hat spotted in Germany-- Welfleet Oysterfest Update

2011-10-17T06:59:00.000-07:00

---Lobster Talk-

The Friends of the Belle Isle Marsh is sponsoring another of its popular talks with a gentleman speaking about lobsters on Monday October 24th. The speaker will be Bill Adler from the Mass Lobstermen's Association whom we have heard that he is a terrific speaker.

Trivia question, where is the largest concentration of lobsters in the US?
Answer. Memphis Tennessee- this is where the Fed-Ex shipping hub is.

Two Oyster Events

On Monday October 17th there will be a special Oyster event at Charlestown's Tavern on the Water. For details you can visit this thrill list site. It looks like a fun event with oysters prepared in different ways including baked and stuffed!

On Sunday October 30th, B and G Oysters in Boston's South End will be hosting a Fall Festival. It will include shucked oysters, apple bobbing, face painting, an outdoor raw bar, and previews of upcoming menu items. Bring your carved pumpkin for our jack o lantern contest and win delicious prizes! Judging at 3 PM.

MOP Hat Spotted in Munich Germany's Marienplatz.

Mass Oyster Hat in front of the Glockenspiel in Munich's New Town Hall that was completed in 1907. The hall is 259 feet tall and contains a mechanical clock with knights and dancers.

Wellfleet Oyster Festival

MOP had a table at the Wellfleet Oyster Festival on Sunday. The activity around the booth was robust and board member Ben Wigren made some important contacts. Another lesson learned at this event was that you need to get there early to beat the traffic. There was a 7 mile backup as I tried to get there on Saturday around noon.

The Mass Oyster booth at the Wellfleet Oyster Festival

Wellfleet Oyster Festival, Update on New York's Oyster Restoration Effort, Wanna Buy an Oyster Hatchery?

2011-10-07T14:51:00.000-07:00

Wellfleet Oysterfest is Fast Approaching

The Wellfleet Oysterfest is coming up on October 15^th and 16^th. While it is well out on the Cape it is well worth the drive. In addition to having lots of the world’s best bivalve, there will be music, beach walks and activities for kids. The free children’s area includes a moonbounce, pumpkin decorating, face painting, oyster jewelry making, a steel drum workshop, sing-a-longs and more. There also will be a shucking contest and over 90 regional artisans will sell their crafts.

MOP will have a booth on Sunday and you can stop by, and pick up our latest limited edition Mass Oyster t-shirt and hats.

Mass Oyster Hat with Washington Street Bridge and Zakem-Bunker Hill Bridge in background.

The event team is still seeking volunteers. If you are interested you can email Nancy.

New York Oyster Restoration Update

We pass on here the latest update we have received from New York. It is great to see they are making progress. But it is bittersweet as they are so far ahead of Boston in so many ways. The coalition working on it is sizable with broad support from many organizations and the involvement of the EPA. The following is an excerpt from their newsletter.

This summer, NY/NJ Baykeeper and the Oyster Restoration Research Project (ORRP) partners have continued monitoring oysters placed on five reefs in NY Harbor, the Bronx River, and the Hudson River in 2010. Over the last two months, an additional 85,000 oysters grown by New York Harbor School were placed at three of those reefs.

The ORRP partnership now includes upwards of 30 organizations, and each makes major contributions to the extensive work involved with organizing, permitting, building, maintaining, monitoring, and funding a project of this scale. Dozens of hearty volunteers, private homeowners, and the Richmond County Yacht Club, have contributed to the work as well. The research underway includes teams from University of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University, Baruch College, Rutgers, and others, and is expertly managed by the Hudson River Foundation.

Biodiversity at the reefs is also an unfolding story. Staten Island reef divers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were joined recently by about a dozen graceful Little skates (Leucoraja erinacea), while New York Harbor School divers report that at the Governors Island reef, patches of oysters installed just six weeks ago are 'bridging the gap' and beginning to grow together in early reef formation, flanked by extensive mussel beds towards the shore.

We too are learning and recently had 30 volunteers putting down 80,000 oysters. One of our near term goals is to prepare a lessons learned presentation to post on Slideshare.

Oyster Hatchery for Sale

Do you have a craving to get involved in the oyster industry? An oyster hatchery is for sale in Virginia. Click on the album below to check out photos.

Album

If the pictures have captured your interest, you can contact John Vigliotta @ 804-694-7685 For $650,000 you can get 12 acres with 400 feet of ocean front.

Thank You Volunteers, Live Oysters Found Near UMass, What Lives in an Oyster Reef II

2011-10-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

Thank You Volunteers

The weather held off and we were blessed with over 30 adults and children helping out getting the oysters to their new home. It was great seeing people connect with the water and see the life in it. Our boat driver said he had several people who were helping drop the oysters say they had never seen the Harbor up close in this way. We are glad to have provided the opportunity and hope they will pursue other opportunities to capitalize on this resource such as visiting Spectacle Island.

Our volunteers hard at work. Photo credit to Boat Captain David Wolfe.

One of our young volunteers. Photo credit Kristen Stivers

Live Native Oysters Found Near UMass Boston

We recently learned from UMass Boston Faculty Member Ana-Marija Frankic that area high school students had found a small population of native oysters in an area near the school. While small in number, the population had been there for several years. Interestingly, the population contained both European and the native Eastern Oysters (To learn more visit this link.) It is interesting to ponder if Eastern Oysters (crassostrea virginica) are the remnant of what was once a much larger population or more recent arrivals. We know that the European oyster (osstrea edulis) is the result of an accidental release from an aquaculture project decades ago. Dr. Frankic is also founder of the Green Boston Harbor initiative and a tireless advocate for improving the quality of the Harbor. Note that Boston Harbor is closed to shellfishing with the exception of steamer clams under special permit, which are sent to a plant for cleansing before introduction into the food system.

Photo from Green Boston Harbor Website

What Lives in an Oyster Reef II

Here are a few of the creatures that our volunteers were able to see on Saturday. Amazingly, the kids were not shy about handling them, reminding me of exploring Maine tidal pools as a youth.

The Grubby

This small fish is ubiquitous in rocky coasts North of Cape Cod. It looks a lot like a small sea robin. We have only seen them at a size of less than 3 inches so they are more cute than intimidating.


Grubby's generally do not exceed 6 inches in length and can be a nuisance to fisherman using bait.			Photo credit Jason Robins

The Rock Gunnel

Also known as the butterfish due to its slipperiness or rock eel, the Rock Gunnel can grow to 15 inches. They are found on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, avoiding predators by hiding in nooks and crannies. We come across them frequently and the ones we see are 4-6 inches long. We have found caches of eggs on netting in the fall and perhaps this is the source.

Rock Gunnel entwined around a snail. Photo credit Jason Robins

The Northern Sea Star

Sea Star- This invertebrate preys on our oysters and is prevalent in Boston Harbor Photo credit Jason Robins

Sea stars, (starfish to me) are not fish as they lack both a spine and fins. They are echinoderms- spiny skinned invertebrates.. Sea stars are able to regenerate lost limbs and in some cases a severed arm can even grow into a complete sea star. At one time fishermen used to cut them up and throw them back into the sea. They were badly mistaken as the vivisectionists were in fact increasing the sea star population.

These creatures have a strong affinity for our oysters and we believe they have eaten many of the oysters we have placed.. Our divers have reported seeing hundreds of them on the bottom. Ideally we should find an area with lower salinity as the sea star has poor osmolar control and they cannot survive in areas without a good deal of salt in the water. Unfortunately, our Scientific Permit limits our options in how/where we place our oysters.

Mass Oyster at the Acropolis! What Lives in an Oyster Reef?

2011-09-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

MOP in Greece

MOP Volunteer Jake Levy sent us this photo of him attired in a MOP hat at the Acropolis. (Maybe this is why the blog has been getting so many hits from Greece!) He volunteered with us this summer and you may have the opportunity to meet him in person at our October 1st oyster placement. These hats also will be available at the Mayflower Brewery Oyster tasting on September 24th froom 3:30-6:00 pm.

MOP Volunteer Jake Levy at the Acropolis in Athens

Oysters in Greece

The ancient Greeks obtained most of their protein from fish, however they did occasionally consume oysters and turtles as well. Here is more on the Ancient Greek diet.

In recent times, true cultivation of shellfish in Greece has only begun in the last five years and is at present only concerned with one species, the Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis. All other species, and much of the mussel production, are still only fished from wild stocks. The situation is likely to change for two species, however, namely the European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, and the clam, Venerupis decussatus (Fr. palourde, Gr. akivada).* Pressure on existing stocks of oysters, reflected in declining catches in the main fishery in Thermaikos Gulf, is a stimulus for steps to be taken to supplement ‘spatfall’, the collection of seed oysters from natural settlement. In the case of palourde, commercial pressure for increased production of this high value species is generating interest in its cultivation, methods for which are now evolving on a commercial scale in France, Spain and Italy. Interest in crustacean (penaeid shrimp) culture is at a similar level. Small lagoon fisheries exist for the native species, Penaeus kerathurus, and basic research on the maturation cycle of this species has been carried out. A commercial proposal has been made to establish a penaeid hatchery on the island of Skyros and the Ministry of Agriculture are considering a shrimp hatchery in their plans for state marine hatcheries.

The historical lack of interest in mollusc farming can be related to the absence of a home market for anything other than a small quantity of mussels and cockles (Cerastoderma edule). As well as being small, the market has a strong regional bias. Only in the north of the country is there an established tradition of eating molluscan shellfish, while in the major centre of population, Athens, molluscs are viewed with suspicion and are only offered by a minority of restaurants.

The oyster and palourde fisheries depend entirely on export markets in Spain and Italy, with some oysters going into France. Most of the oysters are dredged from Thermaic Gulf, south west of Thessaloniki, but here the catch has declined from about 2 000 t/year to just over 1 000 t. A smaller fishery yielding 150 t has developed in Stilida (Maliakos Gulf) over the last two years. About half of the national production of palourde come from a small area of inter-tidal beach near Alexandropoulis in the north east, which yields about 75 t/year. The remaining 75 t is drawn together for marketing by the same cooperative from small beds around the country, such as Stilida, and Geras Gulf (Lesvos). Some are sold from a shore on Salamis, close to Piraeus.

What lives in an oyster reef?

An oyster reef adds roughness or rugosity to the ocean bottom. And over 100 other species will use it for shelter. These smaller creatures, in turn serve as food sources for larger species such as bluefish and sea bass that fishermen covet.

We are going to start publishing photos of the species we find. Today's example came from Board member Ben Wigren.

On-line experts have told us this is a Rock Perch, yet Wikipedia says a Rock Perch is a "small bass"

This fingerling was taking shelter among our oysters. Is it truly a perch or a small bass as stated in the Wikipedia posting? In any case we hope to make homes for thousands of his brethren over the next few years. We have had fish as large as 8 inches in there. This photogenic fellow was returned to the waters a few moments later.

Volunteers Needed Saturday Oct 1, Oyster Growth Charts, Investing in Infrastructure,

2011-09-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

Volunteers needed October 1^st

On October first at 1:00-4:00 we will be placing oysters on the bottom at the mouth of the Charles River. This is a great opportunity to participate in an exciting and fun afternoon. Kids will have the opportunity to see numerous creatures that inhabit our harbor including eels, small fish, crabs, and starfish. We will be sorting the oysters and dropping them in a marked location.

Please dress warmly as we will be on the water and cool breezes can blow. We will have refreshments, gloves and hats for the volunteers. The oysters can be dirty so you may not want to wear your best clothes. To let us know you are coming please send an email to massoyster@gmail.com.

Oyster Growth

We have finally found a way to post charts to this blog and we thought it would be good to share some information on growth. Below are two charts of growth of oysters that were first kept at Dorchester Yacht Club and are now at the mouth of the Charles. This small population is not on the bottom, but suspended in the water column. We have seen that oysters on the bottom are slower growing. They also have greater mortality due to predation.

Experienced oyster volunteer Megan Glenn provided valuable expertise.

The largest oyster in the cohort measured just over 100 millimeters.The fellow on the left is a European oyster that turned up in our container. They are found throughout the harbor and typically live in deeper water.

Investing In Our Coastline Is Cost Effective

A landmark report by Restore America's Estuaries (RAE) shows that coasts and estuaries are not only essential to the nation's economy, but that investments in coastal habitat restoration produce jobs in a cash-strapped, job-starved economy at a higher rate than many other sectors, including oil and gas and road-infrastructure.

The report, "Jobs & Dollars: Big Returns from Coastal Habitat Restoration," lays out a powerful case for government and private investment in the nation's coasts and estuaries, drawing on national and regional studies of coastal and estuarine restoration projects and setting out its findings in restoration case studies.

Key findings include:

Coastal habitat restoration--including wetland reconstruction and improvement; rebuilding depleted oyster beds; removal of obsolete dams, culverts, and other obstacles to fish passage; tree planting and floodplain restoration; and invasive species removal--typically create between 20 and 32 jobs for every $1 million invested. In comparison, road infrastructure projects on average create seven jobs per million.

Habitat restoration not only creates local jobs, it brings dollar to local businesses. In one of the report's case studies, a watershed restoration project in Oregon, 80% of monies invested in the project stayed in county; 90% stayed in state.

Restoration not only creates direct jobs, people using their skills and equipment to restore damaged wetlands and other similar projects, but also helps stimulate indirect jobs in industries that supply project materials such as lumber, concrete, and plant materials, and supports induced jobs in businesses that provide local goods and services, such as clothing and food, to restoration workers.

Finally, restoration projects generate other returns in the form of new jobs, increased tourism and tourist dollars, hunting and fishing revenues, tax revenues, and property values.

Big Weekend for Island Creek Foundation -Fun Oyster Events Helping Haiti

2011-09-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

This is a big weekend for Duxbury's Island Creek Oysters, the remarkable organization that is continuing to drive growth in the town's fishery. On Friday the 9th, they are hosting a benefit for the Friends of Haiti. This is a continuation of their track record of philanthropy that includes activities in working on the Island of Zanzibar in Tanzania. I saw a terrific presentation on this at a shellfish restoration conference. An aquaculturist involved in the project discussed it at length and in detail. It was amazing to see the effort expended to overcome numerous obstacles. The crowd was mesmerized. To see the PowerPoint click here.

Map of Tanzania

The origins of the Haiti project stem from a visit in 2011. A team from Island Creek visited the Caribbean Harvest Foundation in Haiti to learn more about their challenges in aquaculture. By sustainably farming fish, Caribbean Harvest strives to re-make a domestic fishing industry, create jobs and provide nutrition and social programs for the people of Haiti. With the addition of the Friday night Friends for Haiti event, the Island Creek Oysters Foundation hopes to raise enough money to provide 40+ families (nearly half a village) with a Tilapia Farming Starter Kit, which will subsequently boost each family’s annual income from $400 per year to $3,800 per year.nearly half a village) with a Tilapia Farming Starter Kit, which will subsequently boost each family’s annual income from $400 per year to $3,800 per year.

Skip Bennett in the field.

To register for Friday's Haiti benefit you can visit this link. It should be an upscale evening on Duxbury Beach with a surfisde bonfire and dishes prepared by area celebrity chefs. Naturally, there will be an awesome rawbar.

On Saturday is the main festival at which 30,000 oysters are to be shucked by volunteer shuckers and consumed. Live music will be played all day including the headliner- Joe Bachman and the Crew. The oyster world raves about this event and after all the rain we have been having it should not be missed.

September 24th Beer and Oysters Tasting at Mayflower in Plymouth-- Oyster Shell Recycling Starting in Colorado-- Hemingway on Oysters

2011-09-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

September 24th Beer Tasting at Mayflower Brewery in Plymouth, MA

MOP will be sponsoring a beer tasting on September 24th at the Mayflower Brewery at

12 Resnick Road

in Plymouth from 3:30-6:00 pm. There is a suggested donation of $10 per person. We also will have Island Creek oysters for $1 each.

Mayflower Brewing Company is a craft beer microbrewery located in historic Plymouth, Massachusetts. Founded in 2007 by a tenth great grandson of John Alden, beer barrel cooper on board the Mayflower, they are dedicated to celebrating the history and legacy of the Pilgrims by creating unique, high-quality ales for the New England market.

We also will be raffling off MOP merchandise in addition to having it available for sale.

To sign up go to our facebook page-, respond to this email, or email us.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Oyster Shell Recycling in Colorado (?)

This spring we executed our first oyster shell recycling effort. and we learned a great deal and felt a keen sense of accomplishment. These programs are growing here in New England. The oyster shell from the Wellfleet and Island Creek Oyster Festivals will be reused to help sustain the species in restoration work. We were surprised to see it beginning in Denver!

Seattle Fish Company, together with Rappahannock Oysters and the Oyster Recovery Partnership , is proud to announce a brand-new oyster recycling initiative available to our customers. Rappahannock River Oysters is one of the premier oyster companies in the Chesapeake Bay. Travis, Ryan and their dedicated crew are innovators in the industry and have taken a lead on restoring the Chesapeake Bay to its former glory. For their efforts in the Bay and for producing amazing oysters, Food and Wine Magazine presented them with the coveted Tastemakers Award which recognizes spectacular talents who have changed the world of food and wine by age 35. The program will send used oyster shells back to the bay to become refuge and fertile oyster growing beds for future generations of oysters. James Wright of Seafood Business writes, “Living oysters are capable of filtering 40 to 60 gallons of seawater each day, improving the clarity and quality of intertidal waters by removing plankton, sediment, and excess nutrients. After shucking and slurping, their shells keep on giving, too.” Because oyster shells are such a limited natural resource, returning them to the Bay and its tributaries is critical. Recycled oyster shells are reused and replanted in the Bay with baby “spat” oysters attached. These “spat on shell” oysters are placed in sanctuary reefs and provide a natural habitat for new oysters and other marine life to grow. One used shell can host up to 30 individual baby oysters that will then grow naturally into clusters and repopulate sanctuary reefs.

Seattle Fish will provide a five gallon bucket and lid to discard empty oyster shells to all participating restaurants. As frequently as necessary, Seattle Fish will pick up the full buckets, provide an empty replacement bucket and lid, and ship the shells back to the Oyster Recovery Partnership in Maryland, where the shells will be cleaned, aged, and used for new oyster seeds to latch onto. The reused shells will then be recycled back into the water, helping to replenish the oyster supply.

Great Oyster Quote from Hemingway
Richard Rush who publishes the Oyster Information Newsletter recently drew this to our attention.

Perhaps the most famous sentence about oysters in American literature come from a young Ernest Hemingway in his near biblical work about his life in Paris from 1921 to 1926. The book title comes from the opening title page. Says Hemingway: "If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."

Early in the book, he is in a cafe and feeling a little lonely, jotting down a few notes. In his own words: "I closed up the story in the notebook and put it in my inside pocket and I asked the waiter for a dozen "portugueses" and a half- carafe of the dry white wine they had there." He had ordered a dozen Crassostrea angulata - the legendary oblong oysters said to have descended spontaneously from the sinking of a single oyster-laden ship from the orient in a harbor in

Portugal

On page 6, he professes his love for oysters in the famous sentence: "As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and make plans."

Sadly, the "Portuguese" oyster is rarity today in France. But the art of matching a perfect wine to any given oyster lives on. It is an ideal that we all share.

Acidity on the Sea Bottom May Impair Oyster Growth- the Answer? More Shell. Have a Raw Bar Come to You!

2011-08-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

This article came in from a shellfish list serve we subscribe to. We have seen Professor Green talk of similar findings in Boston Harbor.

Killer Sediments

By Eric Scigliano

OnEarth Magazine

August 17, 2011

URL: http://www.onearth.org/article/killer-sediments

Mark Green is waiting out the tide on placid-looking Broad Cove, just north of Portland, Maine. A lab tech and student assistant wait with him. When the tide recedes, they’ll fan out with Green, an oceanographer at St. Joseph’s College in nearby Standish, Maine, across the mudflats and begin taking hundreds of sediment samples at precisely plotted points across the cove.

Green hopes that analyzing them will help flesh out what smaller samplings and lab experiments have already told him: that inshore sediments on the Atlantic seaboard are becoming acidic enough to kill the clams and oysters that inhabit them.

These samples will also give Green something else: a baseline for testing a simple remedy he’s devised to mitigate this effect and, just maybe, save the East Coast’s beloved shellfish industry . The acidity threat here is a mirror image of the one facing shellfish hatcheries on the Pacific coast. There, acidic seawater wells up from the deep. On the East Coast, the immediate threat comes not from carbon dioxide being absorbed into the seas, but from land, in the form of rich run-off from fertilized lawns, livestock pastures, and sewage overflows.

This nutrient bonanza feeds blooms of phytoplankton, tiny floating plants that then die, sink into the mud, and rot in an acidifying exhalation of carbon dioxide.

Broad Cove’s water is less than ideal but still alkaline enough for bivalve larvae to survive, but its much more acidic sediment has spelled dissolution and death for young bivalves trying to build their shells. Clam larvae either burrow into this sediment and perish or recoil from it and float around until they’re gobbled by predators. "You could have two to three hundred thousand clams setting per square meter here," Green says, "then come back a soon after and find nothing."

These effects on shelled creatures aren’t new; Green first noticed them in 1992, and humans have been fouling inshore waters for far longer than that. But like ocean acidification itself, they had long gone unnoted. Researchers trying to figure out what caused shellfish die-offs focused on pathogens and predators. Green couldn’t convince them that young clams were actually dissolving in acidified sediment until he proved it in the lab.

But shellfish gatherers and growers, seeing their yields decline, have long wondered if something was rotten down in the muck. "I suspect that in many areas of the East Coast, we’re seeing the impacts Mark is seeing," says Rhode Island oyster farmer and fisheries professor Bob Rheault, who is also Executive Director of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association.

Rhealt even stumbled on the antidote that Green is proposing for these impacts, though he didn’t realize it at the time. After a big die-off in 1991, he noticed that clams came roaring back on one patch of sediment where none had grown for 20 years: a midden where his crew regularly dumped their culled shells. Likewise, foragers have long known they should toss back the shells of the wild oysters they take, so new oysters can set on them.

Steamer clams are the only shellfish that can be harvested for consumption in Boston Harbor. Once harvested they are sent to a plant to live in clean water until harmful bacteria have been cleansed from their system.

Green suspected that the discards also provided another benefit. Shells are composed of calcium carbonate, the main ingredient in Tums and Rolaids. Perhaps the discarded shells were buffering the sediments, making them less acidic? He tested this hypothesis in the lab, using different forms of calcium carbonate. Whole shells and marble chips didn’t work as well as shells ground to a fine grit: "We’ve gone through dozens of coffee grinders," he says with a laugh.

And gotten encouraging results. Now, with a new grant from the National Science Foundation (which has given $1.2 million to his research over the course of a decade), Green is testing the approach at full scale in Broad Cove. He has also put his money where his research is. He points to a small island out beyond the cove. "After growing clams in the lab, I realized I like rearing these little guys. So I got an oyster farm out there."

Green’s efforts to fend off acidification in sediments along the shoreline won’t stop sea life from crashing due to a worldwide increase in CO₂; only a drastic reduction in carbon emissions can do that. But it might enable growers like him to keep providing us with delicious clams and oysters for a few more decades -- if only to remind us of what we’ll miss when they’re gone.

Traveling Raw Bar Can Come to You.

A friend of MOP forwarded me word of this new enterprise and we thought it warranted sharing.

The R.Shucks Travelin’ Raw Bar is a veritable seafood restaurant on wheels, taking reservations now for your next dinner party, poolside cook out or nautical event.

You can contact Thomas and he’ll source an array of fresh seafood—everything from littlenecks, hard clams, shrimp and up to three kinds of oysters. Then, he’ll make the pilgrimage up from the Cape with raw bar in tow, set up in about 45 minutes and start shucking and serving.

He also willing to bring his 800-pound ice maker powered by a five-kilowatt generator. Which tends to come in handy when you’ve got throngs of people ravaging your home bar and need the ice to back up all the cocktails.

R.Shucks Travelin’ Raw Bar, available now for events, reserve at 888-774-8257 or email here

Cape Cod Adventure- Visit the Audubon Reef Restoration New York Sewage Troubles

2011-07-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

Visit an Oyster Reef in the Making

If you are on the Cape and looking for a fun activity that the kids will enjoy too, check out the Audubon Society's oyster reef restoration effort in Wellfleet. Bob Prescott gives a great tour and has done a nice job getting this project moving forward.

Here is the address and times.

Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary 291 State Highway, Route 6

South Wellfleet

508-349-2615

www.massaudubon.org/Nature_Connection/Sanctuaries/Wellfleet/index.php

Oyster Reef Tour

Visit the wild oyster reef restoration site with sanctuary director Bob Prescott and enjoy oysters on the half shell at sunset. Transportation from the sanctuary is provided.

Monday, Aug. 1, 6:30-9 p.m. and Monday, Aug. 29, 5-7:30 p.m. $15 Members/$20 Non-members

Here is a write-up on a site visit by a Globe Reporter.

New York City Sewage Leak

View of Manhattan from the West with Hudson River

New York City has seen numerous beaches closed over this past weekend due to a fire in a sewage treatment plant that treats 120 million gallons per day. Raw sewage was being dumped into the Hudson River on the West Side of Manhattan. Surprisingly, the sewage was best detected by its grayish color in the water and not by smell. This event also is a reminder of how one mishap can alter our world very quickly. Fortunately, the plant is back up in operation now. To learn more visit here.

Intrepid Young Lady Wearing a MOP Hat at a Michigan Lake

2011-07-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Vivi Brevard modeled her MOP hat after touching down at a remote location in Americas Northern heartland.

When not walking in the steps of Indiana Jones, she enjoys dools and pre-school.

Fishing Boston Harbor- Great Fun

2011-07-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

Since we are curious about the health of the harbor and had seen Captain Bill's impressive slideshare presentation, we decided to check it out for ourselves. In short, we had a great time and were impressed to see the activity on the harbor with five or six boats chasing the blues and stripers. It was a Wednesday so there were not many recreational fishermen/boaters about. There also were a few lobster boats puttering around.

Fish Boston Powerpoint

View more presentations from WebteaFishBoston

We left at 6:30 with only the Coast Guard boats and gulls cruising the harbor.

We soon had the Boston Skyline not far behind us as we began casting to land the monster fish we were seeking.

Soon we were in a patch of feeding gulls and fish were breaking the surface. My colleague caught the fish of the day- a striper that approached 36 inches. Unfortunately, as we went to haul it into the boat it slipped away.

There was a bit of wind that kept dispersing the bait fish so we had to hustle and cast fast. We cruised around Long Island, Spectacle Island, and Peddocks Island chasing the fish. We saw the forts at Castle Island and George's Island. The latter had served as a prison in the Civil War is haunted by a lady in black and also hosted an event that Edgar Allen Poe used as the basis for the Cask of Amontillado story.

We did bring home one large blue fish. But where would we clean it? And How?

Then the light bulb went on and we visited Keri at the North End's Mercato del Mare. The food and staff here are awesome.

Keri with the large blue fresh from our Boston Harbor!

Working with her team and sharp knives we soon had it scaled, gutted, and filleted.

Griffin and Keri hold the end product. Thank you!

Tonight we will grill it lightly with a light coating of sea salt. We can hardly wait!

First Oyster Shell Recycling Program in Boston History Complete

2011-07-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

This was an exciting week for MOP as we completed the first oyster shell recycling project in Boston Harbor history. It is a wonderful story as there are so many pieces and volunteers that came together to make it happen.

The story begins last winter when MOP was seeking oyster shell to place young oyster spat on to use in restoration. (This is a technique used by many groups that we wanted to employ.) Basically you collect old shell, dry it, place it in mesh bags, and then set microscopic oysters (spat) on it. The oyster spat tend to grow well on the shell substrate and are better able to avoid predation. We have had issues with starfish and crabs dining on our oysters.Over the winter we were not able to find the shell we needed and a place to store it. So we thought we were done with this for 2011.

Then along came Jennifer from B&G Oysters

B&G Oysters is a neighborhood restaurant located at 550 Tremont Street in Boston. Barbara Lynch's staff holds an Oyster Invitational there every spring. It is a wonderful event with oysters from a variety of locations. They have graciously provided MOP with a booth and even made a donation of the first event's raffle proceeds.

The B&G facade at the big event.

Barbara Lunch with large donation check to MOP from the first invitational

Their manager Jennifer Pieters called to reach out to us. "Would we take their empty oyster shells and recycle them?" she asked. Two of our volunteers Mat and Rich went to the event and collected buckets of shells and loaded them into the back of Mat's station wagon. (Not only should they be thanked, but Mat's wife should too. The scent left behind on a warm day is pretty strong.)

Mat and Rich on a dive

Mat dried the oyster shell on his driveway and then we packaged them in mesh bags for a trip to Aquacultural Research Corp on the Cape.

Oyster shell drying

Mat Brevard placing oyster shell into mesh bags.

The bagged oyster shell waiting to get some spat added.

ARC put the shell in the water, grew spat, and had them ready for us to pick up earlier this week. We had timed the trip to pick them up such that they would be in Boston at low tide. However, this meant when we picked them up in Dennis six hours earlier it was high tide. And our oyster shell was in deep water.

Intrepid ARC employees went for a swim to get the oyster shell! Thank you Gail, Sue and Terry for going the extra mile.

Gail and Sue fishing out our oyster shell.

The oyster shell in the car wrapped in moist burlap.

Tuesday night as the sun was setting, new volunteer Steve, David and his son Matt put the oyster shell with the spat on it in the water. Divers will be going down in a few weeks to check on it. Through this process we had a few firsts and learned new techniques. Our plan is to repeat the process next year on a much larger scale. We also are discussing a broader shell recycling program with Boston restaurants. (Idea- This could be a great project for a motivated Eagle Scout candidate or college Senior seeking to differentiate herself on a college application.)

Mathew Wolfe working hard hauling shell.

Recycled oyster shell waiting on the rocks for placement in Boston Harbor.

Massachusetts DMF placing steamer clams on Thompson Island

We also recently learned that DMF is conducting a soft shell clam placement on Thompson's Island today. We think it is great that they are pushing this forward. We hope that they will expand their thinking and view the Harbor more broadly than as a source for steamer clams. An oyster reef shelters 100 other species including shrimp, crabs, lobsters, eels and young fish. These creatures in turn draw larger species. If we want to maximize the productivity of our harbor it will take a combination of programs.

Oysters Developing Disease Resistance- Great Discussion of Ocean Acidification-- Make $1750 Eating Oysters!

2011-07-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

Joe P. an early friend of MOP and shellfish expert forwarded word of this this interesting research being conducted at William and Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Long-term Study Shows Oysters Developing Disease Resistance

A unique, 50-year data set collected by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science shows that Chesapeake Bay oysters are developing resistance to the pair of diseases—MSX and Dermo—that have helped push populations of these iconic shellfish to one percent of historical levels.

MSX disease results from an infection by the single-celled protozoan Haplosporidium nelsoni. Dermo is caused by the parasite Perkinsus marinus.

Researchers in VIMS' Shellfish Pathology Laboratory began gathering the data in 1960 as part of their "Spring Imports" project. Each May, the researchers collect about 700 oysters from a disease-free area in the Bay. The current collection site is in the upper reaches of the Rappahannock River near Ross Rock, where low-salinity waters inhibit the parasites that cause MSX and Dermo disease.

The researchers then transport these disease-free oysters to the saltier waters of the York River near VIMS, where they are placed in cages and monitored each month through October for signs of disease.

Ryan Carnegie, an Associate Research Scientist in the Shellfish Pathology Lab, says "These oysters are completely naïve, having undergone no selection for resistance to disease. The prevalence of parasites in their tissues at the end of the summer thus tells us how much MSX and Dermo is really out there in the Bay."

Results of the monitoring program show an upward trend in the prevalence of both diseases among the transplanted oysters. Infection rates for MSX have risen from 35-40% in the early 1960s to 80-90% since 2000.
Professor Eugene Burreson, who heads the Shellfish Pathology Lab at VIMS, says "our monitoring program shows that disease pressure is really high and increasing."

Despite this pressure the oysters seem to be responding. "The Wreck Shoal study in the lower James provides the most complete long-term study of disease prevalence on a wild oyster reef," says Burreson. "It clearly shows increased resistance to MSX in response to increased disease pressure." The prevalence of MSX among Wreck Shoal oysters has fallen from a high of 82% in 1996 to under 50% during recent years, and serious infections have become rare.

The Fall Survey of Dermo disease in Virginia oyster populations tells a similar story. Although the impact of Dermo among wild Chesapeake Bay oysters is still significant, it is much lower than that seen in the "naïve" spring imports in the York.

Carnegie says "decreased disease in the wild despite favorable conditions for the parasites is a clear sign of increasing resistance among our native oysters due to long-term exposure."

The data also show occasional sharp drops in infection rates during wet years, when freshwater runoff lowers the Bay's salinity. The parasites that cause MSX and Dermo prefer salinities above about 10 parts per thousand (ppt). Salinity in the brackish waters of Chesapeake Bay can range from 5-30 ppt depending on rainfall, tides, and other factors. The salinity of seawater is around 35 ppt.

There is an interesting presentation on this topic on slide share. I have pasted in the presentation below.

Disease Research - Oysters

View more presentations from sr320

Through a Shellfish Message Board we learned of this nice write up on Ocean Acidification by Nancy Shrodes click on this link to get the whole article.

What is ocean acidification (OA), and how does it happen?

Oceans act as a sink for carbon dioxide, absorbing 30% of the CO2 released into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels. Through a series of chemical reactions an overabundance of CO2 can result in a lower pH, creating a more acidic oceanic environment (the lower the pH of a substance, the more acidic it is). In the last century alone, pH has already decreased by 0.1 units, a notable change in acidity. It is no coincidence that the onset of such rapid changes became visible after the Industrial Revolution, considering it initiated the monumental increase in greenhouse gas emissions that continues today.
While changes in temperature and pH occur simultaneously as the result of the increased release of fossil fuels, it is important to keep in mind that they are separate processes. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC predicts a 0.3-0.5 unit drop in pH if current emission rates continue. These are huge changes for sensitive marine communities, occurring at faster rates than have ever occurred in the last 55 million years.

OA causes shell degradation and inhibits many species ability to calcify.

OA is a relatively new area of study, and the research that has been done thus far has identified varied species-specific responses to increasing acidification that influence reproduction, growth, and behavior. The process of OA reduces the amount of calcium carbonate available for calcifying organisms like plankton, shellfish, and corals, which use calcium carbonate to build their hard parts. Hence, OA directly inhibits their ability to create and maintain protective shells and skeletons. In studies that looked at the development of marine organisms in conditions of warmer and more acidic waters like those predicted for the year 2100, many showed thinner, weaker, and deformed shells in organisms such as mussels, clams, oysters, and scallops.

Reading this one can only wonder what the affect could be locally of having large amounts of oyster shell present in an area. It is a known buffer for acidity and thus the restoration of extensive oyster populations may be a partial offset.

Make $1750 Eating Oysters

Through delish.com we learned that the New Orleans Oyster Festival has an oyster eating contest. Bring your appetite. At last year’s tournament, Sonya Thomas sucked down 37 dozen oysters, that’s 444 in the eight minutes allotted.

Oyster check provides encouraging results-- A visit to Moon and Long Islands

2011-06-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a group of us checked on the oysters and we had some pleasant surprises. First, we placed some bagged oyster shell to see if we could catch some spat- if we get some reproduction. The young oysters prefer to settle on oyster shell after floating intheir first two weeks of life. ( Keep your fingers crossed.)

Then we pulled up some caged oysters that were placed two years ago. We were expecting significant mortality. Surprisingly in some cages 80% of the oysters were alive. And those cages were in the most silt. (Go figure.)Here's a photo of one. Note the darkened shell from the mud. We did not measure them for growth- but it was not overwhelming.

There were two other good things. One is that our high school student volunteers started picking up glass and other debris, cleaning the area. Bring kids to the water and they clean it up.

The other was when we began compiling the data. The high school students became engaged as we calculated mortality percentages and began brightening as they applied the math they were learning in school. Theycame up with the observations. The aquarium folks call this "Citizen Science." It was fun seeing the kids working hard and engaged.

"Hey- This math they teach at St. Sebastian's has a use."- Jake

I recently went to visit Moon Islands and Long Islands in Boston Harbor as part of a volunteer program through a group called TUGG (Technology Underwriting Greater Good) or tech gives back as part of a service day. Since these Islands are generally closed to the public, this was an interesting opportunity.

Among the interesting things to see was the old Curley Auditorium on Long Island.

The Curley Auditorium is condemned due to asbestos, which is too bad. It sits high above the water with a porch that would be wonderful for intermissions during Summer Theater. In this auditorium Dropkick Murphys’ recorded their video of “The State of Massachusetts" a song about the effects of drugs on individuals and their families. It was released as the first single from the album, The Meanest of Times. and was especially popular with the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Bruins sports teams

The old sewage storage facility on Moon Island was an impressive sight.

Moon Island was integral to Boston’s first sewage system. Effluent from 14 towns was collected there and released into an outgoing tide. Four huge cut-granite storage tanks with a 50-million gallon capacity were built by the Cape Ann Granite Company to handle the sewage. These vats were formed by digging out the northern section of the hill and cementing and bricking the sides of the excavation. This reservoir was divided into four compartments, each with inlets and four outlets. The tanks were 900 by 150 feet (46 m) and 17 feet (5.2 m) deep. The bottoms were seven feet thick and were grooved to ease the removal of sludge. At one end was a gatehouse. The tank outlets were connected with a power pump and a turbine that was used to open the gates of the outflow pipe. The 12-foot (3.7 m) diameter outflow conduit extended 600 feet (180 m) into the harbor from the northern end of Moon Island. The Sewage Plant was completed in 1884 at a cost of $6-million.

Here is a link to a photographic tour of this amazing place.

Moon island long island

View more presentations from Massachusetts Oyster Project for Clean Water

Oysters Wakinig Up Mass Oyster hat's are everywhere! Petition sent to Governor $1 oysters

2011-06-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week we began moving some of our oysters hanging in milk crates to fresh crates as the existing ones had become a bit encrusted after two years in the harbor. It was refreshing to see a thin line of fingernail like growth along the edge of shells. They are waking up and getting active again. It also was nice to see that the larger oysters had almost no mortality. (If only we could get the same survival on the bottom.) The sealife living among these oysters was amazing; including eels, a 7 inch perch, crabs, and shrimp.

The Massachusetts Oyster Hat is popping up everywhere. House Speaker Robert Deleo was spotted sporting one outside Boston's old City Hall on School Street.

This little fellow was spotted in Storyland NH.

If you would like to order a Mass Oyster hat for $15 send an email to massoyster@gmail.com and we will arrange to get one out to you

Since we have had challenges obtaining regulatory approval to bring oysters to other areas of the Harbor we have forwarded a petition to the Governor with over 200 signatures requesting that he explore the matter. We also are seeking to build a broader coalition of support for oyster restoration to help move the bureaucracy forward. Thus we met with Speaker DeLeo. There will be a meeting on June 15th sponsored by The Boston Harbor Association to discuss the future of the Harbor and where we take it from here. If you are interested in getting involved by attending, please visit this registration site.

$1 Oysters at Rialto in Cambridge

Finally, while checking in on our blog activity we learned that a website Cities and Squares had sent us a fair amount of traffic as they had referenced work our interns had done in tracking down the historic presence of oysters in Cambridge. While visiting their interesting real estate based site, we learned that Rialto offers $1 oysters every Monday night at 5:30. We had to share the good news!

Boston Bruin Dennis Siedenberg stops in at Mercato Del Mare during Oyster Shucking Lessons

2011-05-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

The oyster shucking lessons conducted by Liz and Kari at the Mercato del Mare on Salem Street on the North End were great fun. The store is an efficient use of space with a great selection of fresh seafood despite its small footprint. Fresh made sushi in the front window drew a steady stream of foot traffic.

Liz talked us through the parts of an oyster and the points of attack. Leverage is important as you go after the hinge with your shucking knife.

Despite their best efforts to protect us from ourselves there were one or two nicked fingers.

One of the highlights of the day was the appearance of Boston Bruin Dennis Siedenberg who stopped in for some sushi. He graciously posed for photos with MOP supporters donning a MOP baseball cap as shown below. His likable presence supported the widely held axiom that hockey players are the most approachable class of professional athlete. Let's hope he stops into visit Po, Keri and Liz as a Stanley Cup winner in a couple of weeks.

If you missed the event, Kari and Liz host shucking classes every Saturday afternoon from 1-3. At the end of the day, we all had the technique down. Not only does the aquatic duo look great in Mass Oyster Project baseball caps, but also they are nice, fun people.

The sushi here is incredible. Po produced some excellent product for us.

Maryland Thinks Big with Oysters

2011-05-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

Maryland Thinks Big With Oysters

Excerpted from a Washington Post Article

The Chesapeake Bay is the nation’s largest estuary, the lifeblood of Maryland and Virginia. It is a precious resource that shapes cultural identities — such as that of the now-threatened waterman — and the region’s way of life.

Maryland has recently embarked on a new effort to increase the Chesapeake Bay oyster population, encouraging them to procreate by expanding their habitat, increasing aquaculture farming and setting aside larger river sanctuaries to protect them from harvesters.

“We believe the Chesapeake Bay cannot be restored without the restoration of oysters,” said Tom O’Connell, director of fisheries services for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. He explained that oysters play a major role in filtering pollution.

Map showing Chesapeake Bay between Maryland and Virginia and its watershed extending through Pennsylvania and into central New York State.

O’Connell said the state is determined to improve on a previous effort. After spending $50 million in state and federal funds since 1994, Maryland has managed only to maintain the oyster population at a low level — 36,000, a 70 percent drop from what it was 30 years ago. That failure dampens optimism that the historic oyster population can ever be restored.

The drive to go bigger on oyster restoration goes beyond Maryland’s program, which began with the opening of the harvest season in September. In the fall, the Army Corps of Engineers is expected to announce its Native Oyster Restoration Master Plan for the bay.

The master plan aims to expand the oyster habitat in both Maryland and Virginia from 450 acres to tens of thousands of acres between 2012 and 2032 at a cost of $66 million, mostly federal dollars, according to the corps.

With $66 million going into the Chesapeake, shouldn’t we in Massachusetts begin thinking about tapping into that stream of Federal dollars to improve our water quality and create aquascience jobs here?

Link to Washington Post Article

Volunteer Needed This Friday Afternoon Gulf Oysters Face Fresh Threat

2011-05-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

Volunteer Needed This Friday

If you have a couple hours to spare this Friday afternoon May 13, MOP could use your help on the water. Email massoyster@gmail.com. Don't wear your best clothes as you might get a bit dirty.

Louisiana Oyster Growers Could Face a Second Hit

According to the SeafoodNews gulf oysters may be in for it again. Louisiana oyster growers, just getting over the damage from the BP spill and closures, are facing a new threat: fresh water from the flooding Mississippi. Army Corps of Engineer plans to divert floodwaters away from New Orleans may result in massive oyster damage on the remaining productive beds. Here is a liink to the latest map infromation from NOOA.

Thompson Island Pilot Blocked-- B&G Oyster-fest Sold Out-- Learn to Shuck an Oyster

2011-04-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

Mass Division of Marine Fisheries Denies Boston Youth Opportunity to Learn about Oysters

In a shocking disappointment the DMF has indicated they will be denying MOP’s application to begin an educational pilot on Thompson Island in conjunction with Thompson Island Outward Bound Educational Center. It was our hope to place a few hundred oysters each on the beautiful island’s salt pond and in their wetlands to provide students who visit the island to follow their growth and see the species they shelter. The educational component of what we do should not be underestimated as our interns are gaining valuable experience and building their resumes to help them get admitted to colleges, land jobs and enter prestigious programs.

While this is in-line with their track record, there were encouraging signs at a late 2010 meeting coordinated by the National Park Service that they would be open to this site do it’s remoteness and value of the program.

Previously the DMF had denied our application to begin a program in the “water quality challenged” Fort Point Channel in conjunction with the Boston Children’s Museum. It should be noted that due to the actions of the DMF MOP has turned down over $52,000 in grant funding that we could not use.

It appears that the patient cooperative approach is not working and we will need to activate a political process.

Sunday’s B&G Oyster Invitational is Sold Out

This classic oyster lover fest is booked to capacity. But if you happen to be one of the lucky fans of bivalves with a ticket. Keep an eye out for MOP Board members Mat Brevard and Josh Hoch who will be there. They and MOP volunteer diver Rich Bradshaw will be collecting the shells for the first oyster shell recycling effort in Boston. The shells will be collected, cleaned and used as substrate for growing spat. This will be a new initiative for MOP as we seek to improve survival of oysters in our Charles River pilot site.

Learn to Shuck Oysters

MOP will be sponsoring an oyster shucking Class in the North End of Boston on Sunday, May 22, 2011 at noon.

Here is the deal- Liz and Keri of Mercato del Mare / North End Fish & Sushi will open for us and provide shucking lessons to 20 MOP people/friends. Each person will get the opportunity to shuck and eat at least 10 oysters. The cost is $20 per person.

You can bring your own beer and wine. There also will be sushi-chef on site making fresh sushi on a fee for service basis.

To RSVP please email massoyster@gmail.com and we will make arrangements for payment.

MOP Joins Coalition Commenting on Strategic Action Plans(SAP) to the National Ocean Council

The Massachusetts Oyster Project has joined a group of other organizations in commenting on the way in which Executive Order 13547, which calls for a National Policy for the Stewardship of Our Oceans Costs and Great Lakes. The comments contain several changes, which are favorable to oyster restoration programs. For example.

The SAP should state the need to protect and restore ecosystems.
The SAP should acknowledge and give weight to non-consumptive uses. (MOP’s program lies here.)
The Ocean acidification SAP should include efforts to mitigate ocean acidification and sea-level rise. (The calcium carbonate in oyster shells offsets acidity and oyster reefs help mitigate wave action.)

Participating in coalitions of environmental groups and scientific programs, builds our network of organizations with similar goals and raises the visibility of our important work to improve our Harbor.

Poster at Fish and Wildlife Conference Shell Recycling-- B&G Oyster Event

2011-04-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

Oyster Shell Recycling at the Oyster Invitational

A great spring time event is the B&G Oysters Oyster Invitational. It is a fun filled festival of bivalves with shucking contests, new oyster concoctions, a raffle, and oysters from around the world. Barbara Lynch's crew have made this a watershed seafood event that is a harbinger of Summer. The event will be held on May 1st at their 550 Tremont Street llocation. If you love oysters- this could be the event for you- as it has ALL YOU CAN EAT OYSTERS. If you attend you might win a Mass Oyster Project windbreaker that is the must have item for coastal fashionistas this year.

MOP will be taking an exciting step forward at this event as we will begin oyster shell recycling. The oyster shells will be collected in used as a framework for growing tiny new oysters (spat.) Spat on shell tends to survive better than loose oysters. This is our first foray into this type of program. We will seek to expand from this pilot as we move into 2012. One of the challenges is finding a spot where we can store shell as any remnants of the previous occupants dry up and fall off. (This can have a bit of an odor.) If you have a rural location where we could store a truckload of shell this winter as it dries, please email us by clicking on this link. massoysterproject

One of our interns Shira Bleicher, a freshman student at Wellesely College will be presenting a poster at the North East Fish and Wildlife Conference in Manchester, NH. The conference runs from Sunday through Tuesday.

Her poster discusses preliminary results for her study to look at predation and the effectiveness of various methodologies for minimizing it. The preliminary or interim results are largely relating to the affects of winter cold on our experimental population.

She is going on to Mount Desert Island Biological Labs this Summer. Entrance to the Maine program is quite competitive and she will focus on eelgrass with mentors Dr. Jane Disney and George Kidder. She willl be writing proposals and final scientific papers, as well as giving presentations and participating in community outreach efforts.

Congratulations Shira- bundle up this summer. Those Maine nights get cool!

Falmouth Exploring Oyster Aquaculture to Ease Water Quality Issues

2011-04-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

MOP has recently learned of an interesting oyster related project in Falmouth Massachusetts. The town has several densely populated peninsulas that are surrounded by sea water. Most of the homes on those peninsulas use septic systems and the filtered waste eventually reaches the ocean raising nitrogen levels.

High nitrogen levels lead to bacterial growth that consumes oxygen while choking off the light from oxygen producing plants. The result can be an anoxic, barren sea-bottom that is devoid of life.

This map is from a terrific paper on the area published by Joel Creswell et al. in 2001 You can visit that paper by clicking on the scientific paper link.

Falmouth has a number of advantages. First the pollution is nitrogen not bacterial, so they do not have e.coli and other bacteria that would make oysters farmed in that location inedible. Second, they are in a region that has an oyster industry and expertise.

The plan is to begin farming oysters that incorporate nitrogen into their shells to improve the water quality. The sequestered nitrogen would be removed when the oysters are taken to market. One nice feature of this plan is that the oysters are most active in the warm summer months when homes are most likely to be occupied and producing nitrogen.

The third attractive aspect is that it brings people out on the water. Bays are like parks, they are more fun to be on if there are others around. Few people like empty parks and city planners know that the way to make them safer is to get people to use them.

This fact is not lost on architects who include people in renderings to make them more attractive to the viewer. If asked for a preference, people will always favor the rendering that includes people, even if the building is less attractive.

The final feature is that a successful program could obviate the need for an expensive sewer line infrastructure.

One player in this effort is the Coonamessett Farm Foundation who is helping to coordinate the process. And the process will not be simple with involvement of the Army Corps of Engineers, Coastal Zone management, The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, the town government and the abutters.

McIlhenny's Hot Sauce A Louisiana Tradition Continues

2011-03-31T14:11:00.000-07:00

There is a terrific little article in the economist about Avery Island and the family business making McIllhenny's hot sauce. The sauce is great on oysters and mixed into a high quality Bloody Mary cocktail. But in the days of corporate conglomerate's dominating food production the McIllhenny's tabasco business has all the earmarks of a family business with long-term employees living in subsidized housing on an island with parks and amenities.

At consulting firm Arthur D. Little there was an old consultant there in the 1990's who had once consulted to the family about contracts for their salt mine. Avery Island is built on a dome of salt. He had a fabulous time working with the family and he did one thing that made the client extremely happy. In the long-term contract for the salt mined on the island, he had them insert an inflation clause. Shortly thereafter inflation heated up (perhaps in the post-war years.) and the McIllhenny's were protected. He received a thank you package from them every year for years afterward.

To read the article click on this to the economist article.

Click on this link to connect to the tabasco web-site.

Oyster Museum Idea to Boston Arts Council- A Potential Enhancement for the Marine Industrial Park

2011-03-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

Richard Rush, the editor of the Oyster Information newsletter has submitted a proposal to the Boston Art Council to create an outdoor oyster museum in the Marine Industrial Park. It will portray the research, sea farming, and historic social value of oysters in Boston. Given their long but truncated history, and now coming resurgence the timing seems highly appropriate.

To help Richard make his vision reality you can like his project on Facebook. If you are a Facebook user you can go to the Boston Art Commission Facebook page.

Then "like" the Boston Art Commission itself by clicking on the "like" button at the top right. This activates your ability to "like" the contents of any Boston Art Commission page. (they are sneaky in how they build followers eh?)

Then scroll down the Boston Art Commission site for the entry with the photo of a globule of orange balls of various sizes exploding radially outward like frozen orange paint. And Click on the title ID ART: Temporary Art for BMIP. A grid of photos of the entries should appear. Click on any one of the images -that should get you into the slide show of the images.

Once you are into the entry slide show, click to the right or left and scroll along until you see the image that says BOSTON MUSEUM OF FINE OYSTERS.
At the extreme left of the image you will see a "like" button. If you click on it, you can vote for the Museum of Fine Oysters!.

You also can visit Richard's Blog and take the course to become an official "Oyster Aficionado." Here is a link to the course syllabus.

MOP and Outward Bound Apply to Start Oyster Pilot on Thompson Island

2011-03-14T07:13:00.000-07:00

The Massachusetts Oyster Project has submitted a request to begin a pilot at Thompson Island in Boston Harbor. Thompson Island is 204 acres of rolling hills, forests, meadows, salt marshes and beaches with walking trails running through out.

This application was facilitated through the work of the National Park Service who brought everyone together including the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and Outward Bound who oversees the Island. Outward Bound facilities include meeting space, educational facilities, and camp sites. I attended a lobster cookout here one summer evening and it was excellent.

If approved, the pilot would entail placinig oysters in two locations- tidal wetlands and a salt pond. Both you can see on the attached map of Thompson Island.The oysters would be used as part of an educational curriculum that would include discussions of biodiversity and the water cycle. Outward Bound staff would work with students in tracking there progress.

The island is named for David Thompson who set up a trading post in 1626 to trade with the Neponset Indians. It was then used for farming for the next 200 years.

In 1833, the Boston Asylum for Indigent Boys was moved to the island, and in 1835 it merged with the Boston Farm School Society to become the Boston Farm and Trade School. Thousands of boys passed through over the years learning trades and how to care for chickens and goats who were kept on the island. The salt pond was closed in to become an ice pond and the school established a weather station on a promontory that rises 74 feet above sea-level. In 1956 the name was changed to Thompson Academy, which operated through 1974. To learn more about Thompson Island in the old days you can read Paul Lamoureux's Blog

Today the island is owned by the Thompson Island Outward Bound Educational Center that brings 5000 students and 3000 adults to the island.
To visit Thompson Island one can take a ferry from Spectacle Island in the Summer and details can be found here. It is well worth the trip.

Major Washington Oyster Grower Passes- Founder of Taylor Shellfish Farms

2011-03-03T13:01:00.000-08:00

Below is a brief biography of this prominent man in the shellfish community. His Taylor Shellfish Farms grew to $50 million in sales.

Importantly, he fought to for water quality to save the oysters. Unfortunately, Boston Harbor did not have a voice for the oysters as industrialization took hold. While we cannot undo that history, we can build a new one.

Justin Taylor who died Monday at age 90, was a familiar sight to generations of South Puget Sound residents as he waded out to check on his oysters and clams.

Photo from Ron Wurzer Walll Street Journal

Mr. Taylor grew up in Shelton, Wash., on the South Sound, where brackish inlets and bays recede to reveal tidal mud flats, perfect habitat for oysters and clams. At that time the local economy was split between oystering and a pulp mill that drew on the region's ample forests. The mill employed about 400 workers but polluted the water, poisoning oysters. A decades-long confrontation ensued between pulp workers and oystermen. Unlike oystermen in other states, those in Washington had long owned their own beds and so had extra incentive to fight for them.

Mr. Taylor helped lead the oystermen's fight, including lawsuits demanding reparations after oyster harvests fell by as much as 90%. The native Olympia oysters were nearly wiped out and still haven't recovered. The mill was finally closed in 1957 after Washington state refused to grant it a wastewater permit.

In the late 1960s, Mr. Taylor and a brother established their aquaculture company. They started buying prime oyster grounds and built a hatchery that produced hundreds of millions of oyster larvae. They expanded into clams and mussels, which are grown in bags suspended in the bay.

Thanks, in no small part, to his work Puget Sound oysters became so popular that some connoisseurs speak of "merroir," subtle differences in flavor depending on where in the sound the oysters are grown.
"There are beds—you can throw a rock from one to the another, and in one the oysters fatten up and are great. In the other they will always be mediocre," Mr. Taylor told Forbes in 2010.

Skip Bennet of Duxbury and Island Creek Oysters has reported variations in Eastern oysters. And at the Massachusetts Oyster Project, we have seen large differences in growth and fauna in surprizingly short distances.

Millers River - Only a Remnant Survives

2011-03-01T14:13:00.000-08:00

One of the areas of Boston Harbor that once held oysters was the Millers River that lied between Boston and Charlestown. The laws regarding filling were once much more liberal than they are today and basically any non-navigable waterway was easily filled. Thus, the area was filled for the Charlestown Prison and rail yards. It is now occupied by the Northpoint Development, Community College and the lovely park across from the Science Museum. There is plans for a bridge on the North side of the Charles to allow pedestrians to cross from the Charlestown side over the river and railroad tracks to reach that park.

Along the river at one time was a slaughterhouse who emptied its offal into the river. The stench and health effects were so bad that they led to the enactment of Chapter 91 of the Massachusetts general laws. Chapter 91 gives the Commonwealth the power to regulate uses of tidal waterways and is a keystone for protecting our coastal areas..

A small forlorn remnant of the River remains and can be seen in these photos taken from the on-ramp to 93 South. It is surrounded by Boston Sand and Gravel, on-ramps and T-tracks. Unfortunately, the river can no longer support oysters as it is above the dam and all fresh water. It makes for an interesting Kayak trip.

On the left you can see Boston Sand and Gravel.

This photo shows that some effort has been made to beautify the edges.

Harvard University has a nice 1777 map of the area, which labels it Willis Creek. Recently, I have heard that the filling of this lowland has affected drainage of areas as far North as Somerville. Given the area of drainage that once flowed through it, this is not surprising.

This view looks South to where the Miller's River joins the Charles.

There is a lovely cantilevered walkway on the North side. Sadly it is not used and has a bit of detritus, but with the opening of a pedestrian bridge that connects Paul Revere Park and North Point Park there will be pedestrian traffic making it cleaner and safer.

This photo and the one below show the abutments for the bridge.

Along the walkways they have marked the depth of water before the area was filled. the numbers replicate the font written on the old chart. There also are a few marker plaques that are a bit dusty , but with strong content. They trace the filling in of the area and its industrial history.

Massive Potato sheds once lined the railroad tracks accepting shipments from Maine to feed the city. They are memorialized here in a monument which incorrectly dates their burning as the 1930's. They went up in 1962 and people in Charlestown smelled bake potatoes for weeks. When the author planted potatoes in his community garden plot in the late 1990's a number of the older gardeners enjoyed a good laugh. "Imagine that growing potatoes in Charlestown!"

HIstoric Record of Oysters in Boston Harbor Harpoon Oyster Event a Success!

2011-02-20T07:58:00.001-08:00

History of Oysters In Boston

Two of our interns have put work into finding information on oysters in Colonial Boston.Shira Bleicher and Laura Olivier have visited archives and libraries seeking information that is not available at first blush. We have agglomerated this information in the following presentation that is pasted on Slideshare.net. Their fine work is greatly appreciated.

History of Oysters in Boston Harbor

View more presentations from Massachusetts Oyster Project for Clean Water.

In summary, the lower Charles had oysters on both the Cambridge and Back Bay sides. They extended at least to the Mass Ave bridge and may have been found all the way to the Harvard Bridge. Here is a link to the presentation Historical Record of Oysters in Boston

Shira Bleicher setting up an experiment.

Laura Olivier measuring some oysters with David Fields.

Thank you for joining us at the Harpoon Beer Tasting-

A good time was had by all. Special thanks to Corie and the Harpoon Brewery Team as well as Skip and the Island Creek Oyster Team. Both organizations have excellent, tasty products.

Special Thank You shout outs to

Bob Eschenback for shucking 400 oysters in 90 minutes!
Chris Yim and Hannah Dale for manning the front door.
Rachel Hoch for overseeing the shucking table.

Josh Hoch welcomes the crowd.

Beer Tasting and $1 oysters Great TED video about Oyster restoration in NYC

2011-02-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

Beer Tasting February 16th- Great Writeup on New York Oyster Restoration- We are behind!

MOP will be sponsoring a beer tasting on February 16 at the Harpoon Brewery at 306 Northern Avenue in Boston from 5:30-7:00 pm. There is a suggested donation of $10 per person. We also will have Island Creek oysters for $1 each. To sign up go to our MOP/Harpoon beer tasting event page on Facebook. For directions to the Brewery go to this map link. [Image]

Several friends have forwarded a link to this video of a vision for oysters in a challenged area of New York Harbor. In some ways this reminds me of Fort Point Channel.

Kate Orff TED Video.

It is delightful seeing a grand vision for master oyster restoration to an urban harbor. She lays out the vision well. Can Boston get equally inspired? Can we make that a reality? Only with your help.

Harvesting Clams at Malibu Beach in Dorchester

2011-01-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

For the first time in over 30 years steamer clams were harvested in Dorchester's Malibu Bay. The story was reported in the Boston Globe this morning. To read the story click here. Globe reporter Erin Ainsworth was walking her dog with a friend when she noticed the team of diggers at work.

Boston Globe photo by David Ryan

Like oysters, steamer clams are filter feeders that remove silt, bacteria and nitrogen from the water column. Because there is some level of pollution in the area, the clamss need to spend a period being treated in a Newburyport facility before they can enter the food stream. Based on our pilot experience with oysters at Dorchester Yacht Club last Summer this should be a good area for shellfish. Our oysters grew very well, but were removed at the request of the Division of Marine Fisheries.

Oysters are viewed differently than steamer clams as steamers are cooked before consumption while oysters are frequently eaten raw. The heat of cooking eliminates many pathogens. So oysters are held to a higher standard when it comes to consumption and oyster harvesting in Boston Harbor is not allowed. (And it is impossible to find native eastern oysters.)

The reopening is the result of a lot of hard work at the State's Division of Marine Fisheries. They have an active steamer restoration program. We view it favorably for several reasons. First, the new clamming grounds are another sign of the resurgence of Boston Harbor. Second, it will bring people to the water's edge. Having the harvesters there periodically will make the area safer. And finally, having a healthy shellfish industry is good for the Harbor. The shell fishermen can be good advocates for taking care of this valuable resource.

For example, millions of dollars are invested in the Chesapeake Bays oyster restoration effort. Much of it from our tax dollars. Yet Boston Harbor has only MOP on the oyster side. Why?: The Chesapeake oystermen lobby and fight for oysters. They have an economic reason for pushing for restoration. So if we can increase the stakeholders who care about water quality and using the Harbor productively,we can increase the impetus for moving forward.

Congratulations Hannah! MOP Volunteer going to Barnard College

2010-12-20T07:29:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Gann Academy Senior Hannah Dale, who will be matriculating at Barnard College next year. Hannah has been active in the Oyster Project since the early days. She wrote our first successful grant application to the New England Grass Roots Environmental Fund and has volunteered at various events measuring oysters and collecting petition signatures.

According to Wikipedia, Barnard College is an affiliate of Columbia University, one of the original seven sisters, and has a terrific reputation. The College has an illustrious list of Alumnae including Jeane Kirkpatrick- the first female US representative to the United Nations, anthropologist Margaret Mead and lifestyle maven Martha Stewart. But the list goes on… Comedienne Joan Rivers, Choreographer Twyla Tharp, NPR’s Susan Stanberg, actress Zuzanna Szadkowsky who plays Dorota on Gossip Girl. Barnard must be doing something right as these are just a few of the prominent names who caught my attention. In popular culture, the television show Mad Men includes the character Rachel Menken who is a Barnard College Graduate.

An interesting aside is that in 1960 the school attracted national attention when Barnard Students began wearing Bermuda shorts to classes at Columbia. How times change!

Hannah also is a volunteer at the New England Aquarium.

Thank You Visit to Constellation Energy

2010-12-15T15:55:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week we stopped in to visit the Boston Office of Constellation Energy who granted MOP $5000 in an EcoStar Grant earlier this year. We met with Brandon Fong who posed for this photo.

Next week we are meeting with the National Park Service who help oversee the Harbor Islands for an informational meeting.

Beer Tasting February 16th- Great Writeup on NewYork Oyster Restoration- We are behind!

2010-12-07T07:33:00.000-08:00

MOP will be sponsoring a beer tasting on February 16 at the Harpoon Brewery at 306 Northern Avenue in Boston from 5:30-7:00 pm. There is a suggested donation of $10 per person. We also will have Island Creek oysters for $1 each. To sign up go to our MOP/Harpoon beer tasting event page on Facebook. For directions to the Brewery go to this map link.

We were pleased to come across a terrific document updating the status of oyster restoration in the Hudson River Estuary. Published by the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program it provides an excellent overview of the multiple restoration programs going on in that Watershed. It also highlights many of the benefits of a program. To read it, click on this link to NYNJ Oyster Issue.

Visit Mass Oyster Christmas Tree at Max and Dylan's Restaurant

2010-12-01T12:09:00.000-08:00

As part of the Charlestown Holiday Stroll, non-profits are placing trees at various retail establishments for viewing on December 4. Ours is at the popular Max and Dylan's Restaurant on Charlestown's City Square.

The tree is covered in oyster ornaments hand-drilled by Charlestown craftsperson extraordinaire- Bette Task.

People on the stroll can visit the trees and vote on their favorites. The day will be capped with a tree lighting in City Square that evening. To paraphrase a saying about former Boston Mayor Curley vote early and often.

The restaurant is offering 25% off dinner entrees so it is an ideal spot to end your stroll with a delicious meal .

If you are agonizing about your holiday tree, you can make it hassle free by bringing it home to impress your mother-in-law for $200.

International Shellfish Restoration Conference Rocks---- $1000 Grant from Siemens Caring Hands Foundation

2010-11-23T14:02:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week MOP made a presentation on our efforts to restore oysters at the International Conference on Shellfish Restoration. It was fascinating for several reasons. First, the variety of initiatives was amazing. They included state run efforts in the Carolinas and non-profit shell recycling initiatives. The geographic reach extended from the Audobon Society’s work on Cape Cod to the other side of the Globe in Pakistan.

Second, we were surprised to see that we knew many people and they were aware of MOP’s work. One person whose name was mentioned favorably in several contexts was Island Creek Oysters founder Skip Bennet. The Island Creek Foundation has been actively supporting an exciting initiative to grow shellfish in Tanzania. How he found time for this as well as opening the Island Creek Oyster Bar is beyond me!

Third, we learned a great deal- Two presentations stand out.

Professor Lisa Kellogg of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Studies has done excellent work on oysters and nitrogen removal. Nitrogen is a major pollutant in human waste that is linked to harmful algae blooms. My cryptic notes indicate that areas with oysters are 5-8 x more effective at nitrogen removal and that a one acre oyster reef process 1.9 pounds more of nitrogen than areas without oysters. When factoring in nitrogen sequestration in the shells, it could be much more.

Professor Kellogg also presented data on how oyster reefs add to the animal life and it can be more than 10X greater on an oyster reef. This confirms our observations that oyster reefs serve as hosts to a variety of desirable species including shrimp, small fisth, crabs, eels and lobsters. These small fish in turn draw the larger fish who feed on them.

Professor Mark Green of St. Joseph’s College in Maine provided some valuable insights on the acidity of the silt-water interface in harbor bottoms. His team measured several areas including Boston Harbor. Looking at the pH measure of acidity it can be below the 7.6 level which is the minimum for oysters to form more shell. Interestingly the addition of oyster shell in the silt can raise it from 7.1 to 7.8. So oysters can impact their environment favorably.

Professor Green’s information is interesting when we think of MOP’s work as we have seen some interesting outcomes in the growth of our oysters. The oysters in cages suspended in the water column grew best. The cages on the bottom grew slower with those closest to silted areas having the slowest growth. Could it be acidity related? We don’t know. But we are designing experiments to find out.

The Siemens Caring Hands Foundation Grants MOP $1000

We were happy to learn that a foundation affiliated with the global conglomerate has made a grant to Siemens. The company is a leader in medical technology, industrial automation and renewable energy including windpower. To learn more about the many programs funded by the organization you can click on Siemens Caring Hands Foundation.

Large Chesapeake Oyster- International Shellfish Restoration Conference- Laptop Tour of the Mystic River

2010-11-18T05:46:00.000-08:00

Old Oyster Offers Hope for Species in Chesapeake

Mike Deal shows off the unusually large oyster that he pulled out of the Rappahannock River. (Pamela A. D'angelo)

From an article in the Washington Post

A large oyster nine inch oyster that Mike Deal, above, pulled out of the Rappahannock River dwarfed the three- to four-inchers all around it. Deal said it was the largest oyster he had seen in his 30 years as a waterman.

Oysters are struggling to survive in the Chesapeake Bay's polluted waters and tributaries such as the Rappahannock, where oyster diseases and a history of over-harvesting have depleted wild stocks to 1 percent of what they were a century ago. As a result, larger and older oysters are rare.

Jim Wesson, who heads the Conservation and Replenishment Department of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, said it was a feat for a wild oyster to survive and grow this large in "this day and time." Russell Burke, a marine conservation biologist who studies oysters, estimated this mollusk's age at seven to nine years. "I believe that this Rappahannock oyster may be the largest natural oyster pulled from the Rappahannock River since before MSX [a parasitic disease] ravaged the bay in the early 1960s," he said. "Hopefully this is the beginning of a wonderful new trend."

The giant oyster was on display at the Urbanna Oyster Festival this month and is getting a new home on a sanctuary reef in Virginia. (The author of this posting is relieved that it was not eaten!)

The importance of this oyster is that it has some type of resistance to MSX a disease that invades the digestive system and effectively starves the oyster much like a tapeworm. MSX usually hits oysters hard in their third and fourth years of life. So a real old one like this offers hope for the future. We do not know if the oysters in Boston harbor will be plagued by this pathogen. Only time will tell.

MOP to Present at International Conference on Shellfish Restoration

As part of our ongoing effort to raise awareness of oysters as a natural approach to mitigating pollution from surface run-off and other sources we are presenting at the International conference on Shellfish Restoration in Charleston South Carolina on November 18th. We hope to have our slides up on slideshare.net shortly thereafter. We are attracting national interest.

Mystic River View In A Nutshell

There were once enormous oyster reefs on the Mystic River that were so large that they obstructed shipping. While those oyster days and the days of Mystic River shipbuilders have long since passed. The surprising beauty of the beleaguered waterway remains. Check out this time-lapse video as a reminder.

Island Creek Oyster Bar in Kenmore Square is a Hit

2010-11-15T13:17:00.000-08:00

The Massachusetts Oyster Project has been blessed with a strong working relationship with the team at Island Creek Oysters as they have provided support, guidance and expertise as well as seed oysters.

Skip and his colleagues are demonstrating their versatility by integrating vertically into the restaurant business. Their first foray is the Island Creek Oyster Bar located in the Hotel Commonwealth at

500 Commonwealth Ave

in Boston. The

Kenmore Square

location guarantees healthy foot traffic.

Incoming email reviews have been streaming into MOP and they are universally positive with many raves.

ICOB is a collaboration of oyster farmer (Skip Bennett), chef (Jeremy Sewall) and restaurateur (Garrett Harker); Taking inspiration from the Island Creek Oyster farm in Duxbury, the restaurant was designed by restaurant architect Peter Bentel of New York. One of the most striking visual elements of the interior is giant Gabion cages filled with tens of thousands of Island Creek oyster shells. The centerpiece of the room is a 25 seat bar that is divided by a daily-changing grand raw bar display that features an extensive list of 12-18 oysters, as well as lobsters, clams, shrimp and other specialties. In addition to extensive seafood offerings, the menu also features selections "from the land" for our non-seafood eating friends.

To make a reservation through opentable click on this open-table

link or call 617 532 5300

Volunteers Needed November 7 for Placing Oysters-- Data-- Beer!

2010-10-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

Volunteers needed for oyster placement on the afternoon of November 7th!

We have managed through our logistics and have scheduled Sunday November 7 for placing our oysters. We will meet at the Constitution Marina in Charlestown and will need volunteers for physically moving the oysters and for measurement. Please email me at andrewtjay@gmail.com if you can make it. If you are a diver and not in contact with Mat, please respond to me and I will put you in touch with him. Refreshments, gloves, souvenir t-shirts and tools will be provided. We also send a special Thank you to Constellation Energy for providing a $5000 grant toward this placement.

Data from successful Dorchester Oyster Pilot posted on slideshare.net.

We posted a PowerPoint with the results of a pilot study run at Dorchester Yacht Club in Malibu Bay. This location is not far from the landmark artistically painted Gas Tank and adjacent to the South East Expressway. Below is one of the more important slides illustrating that the average oyster length grew from 43 millimeters to 74 millimeters. Click PowerPoint to pull it up. We will be presenting this and other information at the International Conference on Shellfish Restoration in Charleston South Carolina in November and the Northeast Aquaculture Conference in Plymouth Mass in December.

Name the MOP Holiday Tree-

Charlestown’s businesses are hosting trees from various non-profits to raise awareness of the plethora of good works going on in the town. The Mass Oyster Project’s tree will be at Max & Dylan’s Restaurant, which is located at the intersection of

Chelsea Street

and

New Rutherford Avenue

. Our tree will be decorated in mock pearls and oyster shells. But what do we name it? Is there a play on words involving the words oyster, pearl, mollusk or shell? HELP!

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings

We continue to network with various environmental groups seeking both political support and opportunities to work together. We are excited about an upcoming meeting with the Nature Conservancy as they have been active in oyster restoration in other areas of the country. We also will be attending the Boston Harbor Sea Level Rise Forum on November 9^th & 10^th. The Forum is free and open to the public, reservations required. To register, please click on the links below:

Nov.: http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=9jx8b8cab&oeidk=a07e31xi4sr60823d0b

10 Nov.: http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=9jx8b8cab&oeidk=a07e31z7je016c30762

Web Development Support needed.

Our web-site could use a few updates including adding an online petition page and links to our data. A volunteer who has the skills and a few hours would get the hero treatment.

You asked for it. You got it! More Beer!

We will be hosting a tasting at the Harpoon Brewery in the next few months. We are seeking to nail down a date in the near term.

Mass Oyster Project in New York, MOP Diver in the Aquarium, Oysters Secured

2010-10-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

The photo below is of Queens,NY residents and long-time Mass Oyster Project supporters Greg and Amy Barry who stood before the New York skyline wearing Mass Oyster hats. The tall spire in the background is the Chrysler Building- perhaps New York's finest skyscraper.

The twosome want to start an oyster garden where they keep their boat. We have connected them with NYNJ Baykeepers to get involved. New York rules regarding individual oyster gardening are more liberal than those in conservative Massachusetts.

If you happen to be at the New England Aquarium on October 30th. Keep an eye out for MOP diver Jonathan Cutone who will be taking a dip in the big tank, feeding the moray eel and patting the sharks. After fending off lobsters and spider crabs on oyster dives in Boston Harbor he should be well-prepared.

We have locked in 80,000 oysters for placement in early November. Details will be forthcoming.

Mass Oyster Reaching the MidWest

2010-10-07T13:31:00.000-07:00

Mass Oyster Project volunteer Laura Olivier was spotted and photographed in the Mid-West beneath St. Louis's gateway arch. Laura was a terrific help as we measured oysters. She also did some wonderful research on oysters in Colonial Boston.

Did you know that the crowd through oysters shells at the Boston Massacre?
Did you know that an oysterman was stabbed in the shoulder by a British officer's cutlass?

You do now thanks to Laura.

Oysters Make the Duck Tour

2010-10-07T06:44:00.000-07:00

Today, we dropped off our photo station at Charlestown's Good Shepherd School as they are studying the ocean. The GSS is an awesome, relatively new preschool with terrific leadership. The students can pose for pictures and we are collecting signatures for our petition to create a pilot project in Fort Point Channel. Here is a link to the Friends of Fort Poiint Channel.

Beth, the Director of the School told us that on a recent SuperDuck tour they mentioned the Oyster Project on her tour in the context of the MWRA's terrific Boston Harbor clean-up. If MOP is getting into the vernacular of Boston we are going places. Will cartoonist Harry Fig draw us next?

Another sign of Boston Harbor's Resurgence- Oyster catchers

2010-10-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

One of the fun and exciting parts of being involved with the Harbor is watching its comeback as new species return. This year we saw the return of Mackerel, which were last seen here decades ago. There also was a new species that feeds on jelly fish. And the ongoing success of the Oystercatchers.

Three oyster catchers feeding at the harbor's edge.

Original uncropped photo

This year three fledglings were successfully hatched in Winthrop and possibly more on Snake Island according to friend of MOP- Sue Corona. Oystercatchers are wading birds about 19 inches long that feed on marine invertebrates including mollusks. The species is not officially endangered, but their population is considered to be low. Let us hope that by restoring oyster reefs to Boston Harbor that we can create new food sources for them as over 100 species can live in an oyster reef. To learn more you can visit Wikipedia listing for oysters.

Great Weekend of Events

2010-10-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

Many "thank yous" to the team for turning up at the Boston Local Food Festival and the Belle Isle Marsh Festival this past weekend. We met with hundreds of people;tgetting out our message about oysters naturally cleaning the water and adding to biodiversity. Hannah Dale was fearless as our crab-wrangler in the touch tank. It was a male green crab. Anamarija Frankic of the Green Boston Harbor Project also provided support.

The active crowd on the banks of Fort Point Channel stood in stark contrast to the blank slate of the water surface. 160 people signed our petition to begin a pilot oyster restoration project in Fort Point Channel.

On Friday we removed our oysters from the Dorchester Yacht Club per the request of the Division of Marine Fisheries. Remarkably the average length grew 10% in September and the weight even more so. We will be using data from the placement at Scientific Presentations this fall. Over 90% of that population is now at a size which they are capable of reproduction. The Ibutton containing the temperature data is being sent for download by our scientific team.

Busy Weekend--- Fort Point Channel--Belle Isle Marsh-- Volunteers Welcome

2010-09-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

We are headed into a busy weekend and we could use one or two volunteers at two fun events.

The Boston Local Food Festival will take place this Saturday from 11:00 am until 5:00 PM at Boston's Fort Point Channel outside the Boston Children's Museum. We will have a table with an oyster touch tank information on the organization, petitions to push regulatory authorities to move into Fort Point Channel and a chance to get photographed as an oyster or lobster. (That holiday card is approaching quickly.)

We also will have hats and our new 2010 limited edition t-shirts available for sale.

Then on Sunday October 3, we will be at the Friends of the Belle Isle Marsh Fall Festival from 1:00-3:00. The Marsh is beautiful and surprisingly close to Boston. They have hay rides, pumpkin decorating, other activities and a beautiful place to go for an invigorating walk. We will have the same exhibits here as at the Food Festival.

If you are looking to get outside for fun- come join us. Or volunteer with MOP for an hour or two.

Taller Oyster Reefs Improve Survival and Reproduction

2010-09-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

While on vacation, I came across this research published in 2009 that was new to me and very interesting. A five-year study of oyster-restoration techniques in Chesapeake Bay shows that taller reefs worked better in oyster restoration efforts.

A study conducted by Virginia Institute of Marine Science graduate students David Schulte, Russ Burke, and professor Rom Lipcius appeared in the July 30th issue of Science Express. Link to study. Oysters showed greater abundance and growth on reefs built to stand 10-18 inches above the seafloor with reefs that rise only 3-5 inches.

The US Army Corps of Engineers constructed the reefs in 2004 by placing old oyster shells in 9 discrete sets of reefs covering more than 90 acres in the Great Wicomico River, a small Chesapeake Bay tributary, which is permanently closed to oyster harvesting.

In the area used in this study there is a natural oyster set meaning that local oysters reproduce and release young oyster spat. The spat then attach to suitable substrates that usually contain calcium. A very attractive substrate material is oyster shell, but other calcium containing material including concrete cinderblocks will work as well. On follow-up the taller reefs had four times as many oysters as the shorter reefs, and the oysters on the taller reefs were growing faster than those growing closer to the bottom.

The taller reef areas held the highest densities of oysters ever recorded on a restored oyster reef in the Bay with more than 1,000 oysters per square meter. Pre-restoration surveys of the study area recorded fewer than 2 oysters per square meter. Those numbers are important as the oysters in one square meter could filter 30,000 gallons of water per day or 900,000 gallons per month. (How many square meters are there in 90 acres?- Wow!)

Taller reefs may be more successful because the oysters may receive more water flow delivering nutrients and the oysters may be protected from sedimentation.

The taller reefs have persisted and grown for nearly five years, indicating that the threshold for long term success may have been achieved. And they are approaching the form of a natural unharvested reef that once was prevalent throughout the Bay. Harvesting has reduced oyster abundance around the world to less than 1% of its original presence.

At the Massachusetts Oyster Project we have not yet laid down oyster shell to build up reef structure for oysters. We have not pursued this for two reasons. First, we have been focused on proving out that oysters can survive and grow in Boston Harbor estuaries. (There was considerable skepticism about this when we began this oyster restoration program.) And second, we have not yet devoted the time to figuring out the labyrinth of regulations for placing oyster shell on the bottom. However, we do have a volunteer exploring this and hope to commence a program like this in the next few years. We are hoping to have some reproduction this year and are eagerly watching for signs of it.
Our results also indicate that oysters that are a bit higher up and in the current seem to do better than those on the bottom. We also have learned the hard way about the dangers and difficulties of sedimentation, which greatly affected the class of 2008.

Let us hope that this and other successes will encourage the Army Corps of Engineers and other government bodies to consider funding similar programs in Massachusetts waters. Boston Harbor has improved dramatically over the past 20 years and we would welcome additional shoulders at the wheel working to restore this keystone species.

Oyster Glue Identified-Characterized

2010-08-25T01:11:00.000-07:00

Researchers at Perdue University and the University of South Carolina have identified and characterized the glue that holds an oyster reef together.

Image from NSF website.

Oysters use a hard calcium carbonate cement that is somewhat similar to the hard shell material. If you have pried these babies apart you know it can be very strong. In comparison other species such as the mussel use a soft elastic material.

Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rock in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime. It is commonly used medicinally as a calcium supplement or as an antacid.

The potential of the beneficial impacts of oysters and their calcium carbonate should not be ignored as a tool for fighting ocean acidification. In 1989, a researcher, Ken Simmons, introduced CaCO3 into the Whetstone Brook in Massachusetts. His hope was that the calcium carbonate would counter the acid in the stream from acid rain and save the trout that had ceased to spawn. His experiment was a success. This shows that CaCO3 can be added to neutralize the effects of acid rain in river ecosystems. Since the 1970s, such liming has been practiced on a large scale in Sweden to mitigate acidification and several thousand lakes and streams are limed repeatedly. Is it not logical step to think that the presence of large amounts of oyster shell could have a similar impact on a tidal estuary?

To see the original article on the NSF website you can click here. Oyster Cement Characterization Article.

The researchers presented their findings at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston, and will publish their results in the Sept. 15, 2010, issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. To learn more go to glue abstract at The Journal of the American Chemical Society.

MOP Fashions Around the World- Oyster Project Clad Supporter Spotted in Valencia Spain

2010-08-22T01:30:00.000-07:00

In late August, this little fellow was spotted in the wonderfully designed museum complex in Valencia Spain. You can see two of Calatrava's architectural gems in the background.

Wearing Mass Oyster Project clothing helps our oyster restoration effort in two ways. First, it helps to raise awareness of our groundbreaking work. You would be amazed at how people are interested in oysters and making the Harbor cleaner! Second profits help fund the purchase of oysters and other materials. An added benefit is that it makes the wearer look stylish.

We have hats ($14) and windbreakers ($25) in stock.

We will be ordering t-shirts for sale at Fall events shortly. To order send an email to massoyster@gmail.com.

Personal Oyster Restoration Effort on the Chesapeake Bay

2010-08-15T02:06:00.000-07:00

Our web-site has recieved numerous hits referred from a posting on hulltruth.com, a boating web-site. There is a great story there about a person's effort to restore some oyster coastline in the Chesapeake Bay using shell from a restaurant. It is an impressive effort by one person.

By placing shell they are giving a substrate for the floating infant oysters to settle on. In that Bay they have an advantage in that the oysters have a natural set in which the existing population reproduces and the young are floating throughout the bay. We don't yet have that in Boston Harbor, so it would not work here. But hopefully in the not-too-distant future we will have some reproduction. In the meantime one of our volunteers, Ben is exploring how we might get approvals to put down shell in the harbor. Working through the regulatory process is not simple, however we do have serveral sources of oyster shell when that situation arrives.

Here is a link to the site. Oyster shell recycling for restoration

Congratulations Anamarija Frankic of UMass Boston

2010-08-15T01:33:00.000-07:00

Many of you may recall meeting a smart, active lady at our oyster placement events. She is Anamarija Frankic, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental, Earth, and Ocean Sciences at UMass Boston. She and her department have been very helpful to MOP as we try to figure out the myriad of questions associated with a groundbreaking restoration effort.

Anamarija explaining oyster biology to an area high school student and Mass Oyster volunteer

EPA New England recently announced the selection of University of Massachusetts Boston for its Urban Waters/Mystic River UniversityCollaborative. The EPA is developing collaborative relationships in support of its urban waters/Mystic River Watershed Initiative, beach and nonpoint source programs. Given Anamarija's intimacy with the harbor and the Mystic River this looks like a great selection.

Anamarija has worked hard for her students and the health of the harbor. She also runs the Green Boston Harbor Project. To learn more about that initiative click here Green Boston Harbor Project

Troubling times in NJ oyster restoration effort

2010-08-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

It appears that the State of New Jersey has thrown a monkey wrench into the ongoing oyster restoration effort of the NJ Baykeepers group. This organization has been active for several years with numerous initiatives and MOP has drawn on their expertise.

The State of NJ has ordered them to remove their oysters from Raritan Bay. The State is saying that the FDA views this as a threat to the oyster industry as illegally harvested oysters from polluted waters could get in the food chain.

We view this as sad and unfortunate. Doesn't NJ license all oyster harvesters? And don't restaurants purchase their oysters from reputable dealers? There are all kinds of things that can be pulled out of the ocean's polluted waters that should not be eaten. In Massachusetts we have steamer clams in polluted Marshes. Are unsafe ones winding up in the food system? No because our State's Division of Marine Fisheries has posted areas, supervises the industry, and has a plant to detoxify steamer clams that are harvested from questionable waters. Doesn't it seem odd that the FDA is focusing on this when last year hundreds of people were sick from toxic peanut butter?

Fortunately, New York does not appear to be following New Jersey's path. To learn more, you can read the article in the New York Times below.

New York Times Restoration Article

August Oyster Growth Update

2010-08-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

It has been an exciting time for the Oyster Project. Mortality has been very low in the oysters we placed in cages last fall and, in some cases we have seen substantial growth. Our volunteer divers and measurers have had some excitement including our first 4 inch long oyster! Size matters because reproducing size is considered to be 3 inches. So if we can get them to that size, then there is hope for a reproductive event when the water gets warm enough. Interestingly, once the oysters get to be around that 3 inch size the growth tends to shift more to thickness. It is fascinating to watch.

We have been sharing data with our regulators at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. So, we are beginning to generate data indicating the oysters can survive and grow in the harbor.

Two of our larger oysters. The left is more the classic tear drop shape.

On the other hand, we have not yet shown reproduction, although we placed an impressive specially designed device for young oysters to settle on should they be created. (Thank you Dave!) And we did see extensive predation of our loose oysters by starfish and crabs. (They like eating oysters too!) This will need to be considered as we seek to establish a self-sustaining population.

Here is Dave with the apparatus. and the medicine ball like floats that support it. In the lower right of the photo you can see the "cages" we place oysters in on the bottom.
Overall, we are pleased with the progress from an oyster front and we are learning a lot! How to place the oysters, methodologies for measurement, apparatus that can be used, etc.

Its not one Boston Harbor... but a salad of MicroConditions

2010-08-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

When we look at Boston Harbor from a distance it looks like a single blue mass. But as we get to know it better, it becomes apparent how much one area varies from another-even if the two spots are seemingly close together.

When we check on our oysters these differences become striking. Here is a photo of some milk crates that hold a few oysters. They were first coated with barnacles. And then a matt of mussels.

Yet here is another crate from 100 feet away with volunteers David Fields and Laura Olivier. There are a few mussels, but nothing like on the crates above.

And here are some cages that are 200 yards away. There is no growth on them at all.

We have also seen cages coated with jellied masses that the dock hands refer to as sea onions. So we are learning that there is much more going on than meets the eye. There can be silt, rock or sand floor, salty or brackish water and differing currents. Fortunately, we are seeing that the oyster is fairly versatile and our survival data for oysters in cages is very good. Clearly the oysters are good as the loose ones seem to attract a fair number of starfish and crabs seeking to dine on them.

As we gain experience we are beginning to understand these underwater microclimates a bit better and seeking to incorporate this knowledge as we seek to restore the oyster to its historic home.

Example of live European Oyster from Boston Harbor

2010-07-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

Professor Anamarija Frankic of UMass Boston forwarded these photos of a live European Oyster that she found it on the Quincy side of Moon Island in July.

The European Oyster (ostrea edulis) tends to live in deeper water than the Eastern Oyster that we are working to restore.

The European oyster was imported to Maine in the 1950s for aquaculture. We have heard that they were accidentally released from a Massachusetts North Shore aquaculture facility when the wrong valve was mistakenly opened. A 1997 survey revealed dense concentrations of O. edulis in Salem Harbor, Danvers River, and Manchester Bay (Salem Sound). Lower densities were observed north to Cape Ann and south to Boston Harbor. They continue to be harvested in Casco Bay, Maine. In the Northeast, O. edulis appears to occupy a different niche than the native oyster population, and it is yet to be determined if there are ecological impacts.

We have seen O. edulis shells throughout the harbor and our divers had even found one at the mouth of the Charles River. Below is a picture of one Mat has found on a May dive.

Raising Oysters on Governor's Island in New York Harbor

2010-07-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

MOP member Ben forwarded this link to NY Times article about students raising oysters on Governor's Island in New York Harbor. NY Governors Island Oysters

The New Yorkers are a bit ahead of MOP in that they have been able to get an upweller in the water to raise oysters, while we have not been able to overcome all the barriers to doing likewise. We have an ongoing dialog with people driving the oyster restoration effor there and occasionally compare notes. Interestingly, when we hosted a group from the big apple here in February they were impressed with the vitality of our harbor.

Over the next week, we will again be active measuring oysters to generate more data on their growth. There also will be another major dive/measurement on July 18th. Several have already volunteered, but a few more people would make it go even easier.

Spat Collector Placement

2010-06-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

On Saturday our dive team went into Boston Harbor to place a spat collector to see if we might get reproduction.

Oyster reproduction begins at ~68degrees f. Oysters spawn with the female releasing eggs into the water and the male releasing sperm. Within about six hours, a fertilized egg develops into a free-swimming larva that will develop a shell within 12 to 24 hours. Within a few weeks, the shelled larva develops a foot and settles to the bottom of the water, attaching itself to a hard surface--usually the shell of an adult oyster--to enter into metamorphoses into the form that would be recognized as an oyster.

Here is a link to the full web photo album.Spat Collector Photo Album

Oysters usually start life as males and then will convert to females. We do not know if we have enough females in our population to get a successful set. We are placing an apparatus that is coated with a cement mixture that is high in lime. The floating spat are attracted to it and tend to settle on it.

Let's hope for the best!

MWRA Progress on CS0s-- Meeting with DMF on Fort Point Channel

2010-06-15T07:14:00.000-07:00

Recently we came across the 2009 report on the MWRA's effort to close Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). It is impressive to see the tremendous progress that has been made in this ongoing effort. You can see the report by clicking on this link. 2009 MWRA CSO report

Last week Mat Brevard and I met with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries to discuss a proposal to raise oysters in an upweller for distribution in the much neglected Fort Point Channel. The dialog was both in depth and productive. Unfortunately there remain some concerns on the DMF-side that will lead us to rethink our strategy for Fort Point Channel. The meeting ended with us agreeing to submit a more detailed proposal on Fort Point Channel.

Thank you for your support Treasure Bay Designs! You may recall that this independent jewelry maker is producing a special MOP bracelet to help fund Oyster Restoration. They have sold 28 to date. In case you missed the posting. Below is a photo and to contact Treasure Bay visit this link.Treasure Bay Designs

The bracelet consists of fresh water pearls with one chalcedony bead in honor of fresh water.

Oysters in Dorchester's Malibu Bay Survive Winter in Style

2010-05-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

While we lost one cage of oysters at Dorchester Yacht Club due to either a bad knot or frayed rope, we were heartily pleased with the survival we saw in the remaining crate. David Fields volunteered to help out and working together we soon had the data we were after. We had 299 living oysters for a 96.76% survival rate.

Below is David taking a salinity reading. It was 27 ppt. Normal seawater is around 32 ppt.

The oysters seemed healthy and there was two crabs and a silver fish in the crates with them. You can see one of the crabs in the upper right hand corner of the milk crate.

Below is a photo of David with the Vice Commodore Brian Taylor who is holding two of our bivalve friends.

We cannot say enough good things about Dorchester Yacht Club. The people are friendly and nice. They are very protective of the oysters and truly care about Malibu Bay. While driving through nearby Savin Hill, moving and buying a small boat to keep at the club was a tempting train of thought.

The Data is in Winter Oyster Survival in the Charles Cages is Exceptional

2010-05-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

The official statistics are in from our Chief Scientist and the data looks good. The divers pulled up four cages on May 2. All had survival above 94%.

MA - 94.27%

Near Side Cage #5 - 97.33%

Near Side Cage #7 - 98.69%

Far Side Cage #1 - 95.30%

The oysters outside of the cages faired less well as there was predation. We even caught one Green Crab in the act!

This weekend we will do a survey of Fort Point Channel.

Mass Oyster Windbreakers Available!

2010-05-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

For all you fashion mavens who have been wondering what to wear on those chilly mornings or breezy days at the shore or as you are out and about, Mass Oyster has the answer in its MOP logoed windbreakers!

These are the colors and they are available in adult sizes SMLXL

The logo is as below but the jacket is really maroon as above.

The price of fashion in this case is reasonable as they are available for a modest $25. Email massoyster@gmail.com and we will get one out to you.

Informative Talk on Steamed Clam Restoration in Boston Harbor

2010-05-12T06:28:00.000-07:00

On Monday, I attended a presentation on "The Return of the Clam" at the Orient Heights Yacht Club that was sponsored by the Friends of the Belle Isle Marsh. Dr. Joe Buttner of Salem State College and the Northeastern Massachusetts Aquaculture Center gave an excellent presentation talking about aquaculture and a shellfish farming project to restore Softshell Clams in Boston Harbor and coastal Massachusetts. He showed how they stimulate clams to spawn and produce spat in their lab to later place them in tidal flats in Boston Harbor.
There were many parallels to the Massachusetts Oyster Project’s efforts to restoring oysters. They are now placing the clams below nets to prevent predation from Green Crabs. (This species is not native to this area, but arrived from Europe some ~50 years ago.) Like MOP, they have proven survival and growth. They also are working to generate data on reproduction to see if the placed clams are generating offspring.
The steamed clams that are harvested from Boston Harbor are all sent to Newburyport for treatment so that they can be sold for consumption. Only steamers may be harvested.
There was an older gentleman there who participated in an oral history project regarding Chelsea Creek conducted by the Chelsea Creek Action Group. He indicated that as part of that project he heard a man named Sal or Vinnie recount how his grandfather made his living harvesting oysters from Chelsea Creek. MOP unsuccessfully submitted a grant to the Boston Foundation to obtain funding for a pilot oyster program there. He has invited to take a few people out on a tour of the creek through the Belle Isle Marsh, so we will set up a date to do so.

A young gentleman from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) was also there and spoke very knowledgeably about the program. Chris is active in this program and may be reaching out to MOP when they need volunteers on the clam project. I also invited him to come along when we measure some of the oysters in cages.

Oyster Update

2010-05-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

A great group of volunteers assembled sunday to check on the oysters for the first time in 2010.

We brought up 4 of the cages with known numbers of oysters placed last fall. We also pulled up random cages to make many measurements of growth.

The survival in the cages was very good. Only about 5% of the oysters died over the winter which is very favorable.

Underwater, the dive team looked for signs of silting, which was minimal. Many of the loose oysters were being killed by predators however. Below is a picture of a crab eating an oyster.

One interesting thing we saw was that some of the oysters had developed an imprint of the cage mesh on their shells.

Several of the cages have temperature data loggers in them that we removed and downloaded. We will share all of our data soon! Special thanks to Rich for running the last set of oysters back over to the north when the rest of us had called it a day!

In June we will do more monitoring work so please check back for more information soon as we settle on a date for that event! We hope to pull up more cages and will need plenty of volunteers to help measure and count oysters.

Support MOP with fine jewelry for Mom for Mother's Day!

2010-04-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

Treasure Bay Designs is producing a special bracelet for MOP. It consists of fresh water pearls with one chalcedony bead in honor of fresh water.

The bracelet retails for $25 with $5 going to MOP.

The bracelet may be purchased by emailing Theresa@tbd.us.com or through the following retail establishments:

Five Crows Gallery – 8 Court Street, Natick, MA

Designs by S&R – 85 Route 6A, Orleans, MA

First look at the oysters in 2010!

2010-04-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

Divers will hit the water on May 2nd to check out the oysters and bring up some samples to study further.
Stop by around noon time to see the oysters out of the water before we put them back.
Volunteers are needed from 11am onward to measure and document oysters. Dive volunteers are also welcome, we meet at 10am.
contact us

Oysters and Nitrogen Removal, Oyster Event, Volunteer Opportunity May 2

2010-04-19T12:02:00.000-07:00

Oysters and Nitrogen Removal Poster
Last week we presented a poster at the 7th Annual Massachusetts Water Resources Conference at UMass Amherst. Our poster was entitled “Exploration of the Cost-Effectiveness of Using Oysters for Nitrogen Removal From Wastewater Relative to the Cost of Constructing Incremental Wastewater Treatment Plant Capacity.” It discusses a model that indicates that oysters could be a cost-effective alternative for removing nitrogen from waste-water vis-à-vis the construct of incremental waste treatment capacity. The financial model is in its first iteration and needs to be refined, however the outcomes are encouraging. You can see a Powerpoint Summary of it here. It already has 75 views!

It was a terrific learning experience. Interestingly, we learned of a vineyard on the cape that spreads oyster shells on the ground to reduce acidity of the soil. They could be a tool to help off-set growing acidity in the oceans. There also was a poster from a group that is using oyster shells as a catalyst for breaking down toxins at a military base on the cape.

Oyster Event
The Oyster Event at Tavern on the Water was well attended considering the chilly weather. The crowd enjoyed delicious Island Creek Oysters, a shucking competition and a nice evening soaking up the wonderful views of the Boston skyline. For pictures of the event you can visit our Oyster Event Photo Album.

Upcoming Conference Presentation
We also will be presenting an overview of our project next week at the 66th Annual Northeast Fish and Wildlife Conference at the Newton Marriott. We could have some new data/observations to present as the Harbormasters divers may make a traininig dive on the oysters this week. In any case attending events such as this is a good way to reach out to other environmentally minded groups and professionals. You can learn more by visiting the Conference Site.

Save the Date May 2- Volunteers needed
Our divers will be going down to check on the oysters on May 2, we need several volunteers to support them by handling and measuring the oysters.

Oyster shell recycling from restaurants in Maryland

2010-04-05T07:13:00.000-07:00

One of our volunteers sent in this link to a news story where restaurants are saving their oyster shells for use in restoring oysters to the Chesapeake. Oyster shell provides a medium for the very young free floating oyster spat to latch on to. (One of the ways we check for reproduction is by hanging shell near our oysters to see if we are getting spat settlement.) There is some suspicion that the Chesapeake may be suffering from a lack of this shell medium as spat may not find a place to settle.

MOP is a ways from developing such a program as part of our oyster restoration effots, but with the initiative of Rob, we are beginning to explore this idea with various regulatory authorities. Oyster Shell Recycling Program

Oyster Orgy to Benefit MOP at Tavern on the Water April 15th

2010-03-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

On April 15th Charlestown's Tavern on the Water will be hosting the second annual benefit for the Massachusetts Oyster Project from 7:00-10:00pm. With paid admission you get five oysters, a beer, a great time and the opportunity to help improve Boston Harbor. Admission is $15 if registered in advance and $20 at the door. The event will feature oysters from sponsor Island Creek, an oyster shucking competition, prizes, and lots of good times. The Oyster Project is a non-profit organization restoring water cleansing oysters to the Charles River estuary. To register please call Tavern on the Water at 617-242-8040 or stop by the Tavern, which is located at 1 8th Street Charlestown.

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Mass Oyster Hats Around the Globe!

2010-03-29T09:54:00.000-07:00

Tina Gibson sent this photo ofher wearing a Massachusetts Oyster Project Hats in Egypt. We will soon be setting up a link to purchase them on-line for $14 plus $2 shipping. In the meantime you can send a check to MOP at 67 Old Rutherford Avenue Charlestown, MA 02129, or visit Charlestown's Olivia Browning store who carries them.

Send us a photo of you and your MOP hat!

Georgia Oyster Reef Restoration

2010-03-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

A good friend at the Division of Coastal Zone Management sent me this original story about oyster reef restoration in Georgia, what is most amazing to me is that they have lost at least 90% of their oyster reefs and possibly 99%!

AmeriCorps workers load bags of oysters on to the wooden pallets to create an oyster habitat. (Steve Bisson/Savannah Morning News)

Bag oyster shells are used to create a new oyster habitat. (Steve Bisson/Savannah Morning News)

By Mary Landers
In the past six years, researchers at the University of Georgia Marine Extension Service have created 14 oyster reefs up and down the Georgia coast.

Now they're taking on one of their biggest challenges yet, a nearly half-acre reef on the Skidaway River behind the UGA aquarium.
Eight AmeriCorps workers started the reef this week, but volunteers are welcome to get their feet muddy Saturday and early next week.
"It's a great opportunity for folks to see the whole process from bagging to putting it into the marsh," said Daniel Harris, oyster restoration coordinator.
The marine extension program is partnering with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Coastal Conservation Association on this reef and another two on Sapelo Island
There's plenty of work to go around. Creating the Skidaway reef requires the bagging of 10,000 bushels of oyster shells.Volunteers will stuff the shells into plastic mesh bags, which help keep them in place against the tide and in the wake of passing boats. They'll then pile them onto pallets laid in the marsh to undergird the structure.

For Anna Hill, a 23-year-old AmeriCorps worker from Fairfax, Va., slogging through the pluff mud and slapping away gnats Thursday morning was worth it. "I like getting dirty," she said. "And being in the water and outside."

When complete, the reef will stretch more than a quarter mile along the shore.

About a century ago, Georgia was America's oyster hub, leading the nation in oyster landings. The bivalve's decline had multiple causes, including overharvest, drought and disease. But each of those problems was exacerbated by a simple practice: Oystermen didn't put the shells back in the water. Baby oysters settle and grow on the shells of previous generations. With fewer and smaller oyster reefs in the water, each young oyster is squeezed for space.

In 2009, only 7,000 pounds of oyster meat was harvested in the state, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. It's estimated 90 percent to 99 percent of the reefs that existed in Georgia 100 years ago have disappeared.

Oysters are more than a delicacy; oyster reefs help prevent shore erosion. As a filter feeder, a single adult oyster can clean up 2.5 gallons of water an hour. And seafood lovers take note: Oysters are a keystone species that provides fish, crabs and shrimp with a place to hide, feed and raise young.

On a day when the water's clear, you can see juvenile shrimp swarming on an oyster reef, Harris said. "They swim right up to your face."

Help build a reef

Those interested in volunteering should wear old sneakers or other appropriate shoes and clothes that can get muddy. A causeway of pallets will lead into the water to make access easier. Gloves and snacks will be provided. All ages are welcome at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography campus, 10 Ocean Science Circle.

Mass Oyster Hats available at Olivia Browning In Charlestown

2010-03-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

Upscale gift retailer Olivia Browning is now carrying the Mass Oyster Project hats in the 20 City Square store in Charlestown. While you are there, you can also find wonderful gifts, fun things for children and tasteful decorations for the home.

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Mass Oyster Hats Have Arrived! Spring Parties! Conference Season! Fort Point Channel Restoration Initiative

2010-03-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

Like a wave building to crash on a beach the spring season for the Massachusetts Oyster Project is arriving with breathtaking swiftness.

Fort Point Channel

On the oyster placement side, we recently met with the Friends of the Fort Point Channel’s abutting property owners to discuss raising oysters and beginining an oyster restoration initiative in the Channel. To learn more about the Channel click on Link to Friends of Fort Point Channel. This is an area of the harbor that has considerable run-off flowing into it. We are excited about working with this group and beginning this exciting initiative. Already we have several grant applications outstanding including one put together by star grant writer Mary Brevard that was submitted on Friday.

The Channel includes landmark buildings such as The Children’s Museum, Atlantic Wharf, and the Intercontinental Hotel. Here is a view of the Children's Museum.

To learn more about this wonderful institution you can click on Link to Boston Children's Museum.

Hats are here! Show your support.

The new Massachusetts Oyster Project Hats have arrived. We will soon be setting up a link to purchase them on-line for $14 plus $2 shipping. In the meantime you can send a check to MOP at 67 Old Rutherford Avenue Charlestown, MA 02129.

Spring parties are beginning. Save the following dates.

April 15 Tavern on the Water- Charlestown
May 2 B & G Oysters

Scientific Presentations and Conferences

MOP also will be presenting at two spring scientific conferences in April. At the New England Fish and Wildlife Conference in Newton we will give an overview of the oyster restoration program's progress to date. At the Amherst Water Resource Conference we will be discussing the relative cost-effectiveness of oysters vs. nitorgen extraction at sewage treatment plants Oysters are 1.4% nitrogen by weight as they sequester nitrogen in their shells. The average person excretes 12 pounds of nitrogen per year and excessive amounts can lead to bacterial blooms, red tides and imbalances in coastal ecosystems.