Initiative could help growers, ecosystem, and coastal communities
Joseph Gordon, Aaron Kornbluth & Zack Greenberg | The Pew Charitable Trusts | October 21, 2020
This year has been hard on shellfish farmers, with sales to restaurants way down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That has left many farmers holding oysters even as they grew beyond the ideal size for the half-shell market, and has created a major dilemma over what to do with those oversized bivalves.
Now, there’s a new option on the table. Under a partnership called Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration (SOAR), eligible growers in seven states—Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Washington—can sell their overgrown oysters for use in reef restoration projects.
How oyster reefs help coastal ecosystems
Oyster reefs help protect shorelines, filter water, and provide habitat for wildlife. Sadly, U.S. native oyster populations have declined to a fraction of their historic levels because of over harvesting, pollution, and habitat destruction. But rebuilding shellfish habitats is one of the most promising opportunities for reviving coastal ecosystems, and states’ investments in oyster reef restoration have yielded results in recent years.
Still, one challenge for restoration practitioners has been the time, money, and effort needed to raise baby oysters to a size that increases their chance of survival once transplanted to a reef. Adding large, healthy, adult oysters through the SOAR initiative could rapidly accelerate progress on the restoration projects.
SOAR was developed by Pew and The Nature Conservancy, with guidance and support from state and federal agencies. It is the largest partnership between growers and restoration experts to date, with $2 million in funding, and expects to buy at least 5 million oysters to populate 27 acres of reefs across 20 restoration sites. SOAR program leads anticipate that more than 100 shellfish companies will sell to the program, and that revenue from those sales will help support 200 jobs in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and Washington state.
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