Shellfish Harvest Area Oyster Restoration Project

About the Reefs

In Georgia, most living oyster reefs are found in the inter-tidal zone where they act as break waters reducing wave energy thus protecting the marshes from erosion.

Oyster reefs provide spawning, breeding, feeding, and nursery habitat for a myriad of invertebrate and fish species earning them the designation of Essential Fish Habitat. As oyster reefs mature and expand, species abundance and diversity increases.

A single oyster can filter 15 gallons a day, retaining particles as small as 2 microns. They filter suspended particulate matter such as silt, algae, phytoplankton and pollutants which improves light penetration and overall water quality.

There is a high density of natural oyster spat (larval oysters) in Georgia’s estuaries. However, oyster spat must have cultch (a term that defines substrate material that is suitable for oyster settlement) to settle on to complete its life cycle.

Suitable cultch is not very abundant in the estuary and therefore shell and other materials must be planted to promote the growth and expansion of new oyster reefs.

Recycled oyster shells from restaurants, oyster bars and oyster roasts are donated and cured for six months before they are used. Shells are bagged and put into gabions (wire baskets) before they are planted in designated restoration sites.
After the shells are planted, oyster spat attaches to the shells and grows creating a new oyster reef.

Oyster Restoration Projects

Sponsored, conducted, and partnered by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Coastal Resources Division, Marine Fisheries Section.

Chatham County Recreational Shellfish Harvest Area also known as Oyster Creek is the tenth oyster restoration project GA DNR has conducted. These projects are truly a cooperative effort, involving environmental groups, universities, fishing organizations, federal agencies, and of course, volunteers. Many of these projects could not have been accomplished without the coordinated efforts of all these partners.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources Oyster Restoration Projects and Partnerships

Location	Deployment Dates	Partners	Materials	Acres
Bellville Boat Ramp	September 12, 2008	Coastal Conservation Association - Georgia (CCAGA) Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP)	125 Wood bundles 600 Spat sticks 100 Oyster bags	0.1
Jekyll Island Boat Ramp	March 3 - 5, 10 - 12, 2009	SARP	1700 Spat sticks 40 FADS	0.1
Altamaha Emerging Island	July - October, 2009	SARP, The Nature Conservancy (TNC)	150 FADS 1800 Spat sticks	0.4
Plantation Creek	September 12	SARP	Oyster bags	0.1
Skidaway River	Spring 2010	SARP, AmeriCorp, UGA	Oyster bags	0.3
Post Office Creek	Spring 2010	SARP, TNC, Sapelo, UGA	Oyster bags	0.5
Jointer Creek	April 16 - 19, 2012	University of Georgia (UGA)	Wood bundles Oyster bags Oyster gabions	0.41
Overlook Park	March 21 - 23, 2013	Izaak Walton League of America (IWLA)	Oyster bags	0.08
Florida Passage	April 6 - 7, 2013	CCAGA	Oyster bags	0.015
Chatham County Recreational Shellfish Harvest Area	April 23 - 26, 2013 May 6 - 10, 20 - 24, 2013	N/A	Oyster bags Wood bundles	0.138

The benefits of Oyster Restoration Projects is that it creates a suitable substrate for larval oyster recruitment, thus increasing our oyster population. Once oysters are established:

• Creates juvenile nursery and spawning habitat for such commercially and recreationally important species as shrimp, crabs, spotted sea trout, red drum, and other numerous species.
• Increase in juvenile shrimp, crabs, and fishes will attract larger fishes which will enhance recreational angling opportunities.
• Oysters are filter feeders, and as such, will improve local water quality.
• These reefs will provide bank and shoreline stabilization, which in turn, will provide protection to our marshes which are vital to the coastal ecosystem.

Benefits of “Operation Oyster Outreach”

The Chatham County Recreational Shellfish Harvest Area Project will use a novel approach to get the hundreds of bags of oyster shells and pallets to the site. Instead of loading small amounts of materials on boats and motoring to the site, two DNR helicopters will lift shell materials right onto the site. Oak limb bundles will be transported with the standard approach using vehicles and trailers for landward staging then loaded onto boats that will motor to the site.

The process is analogous to laying grass sod. A big truck arrives at your house and a forklift strategically placed pallets of sod around your yard. Workers then unload each pallet, laying the sod in a timely and efficient manner.

Due to the 8-foot tidal cycles we experience in Coastal Georgia, work on site is limited each day.

Operation Oyster Outreach Processes

By Helicopters to move all shell and pallets to the site

• Labor Estimates includes: 3 vessels, 21 staff
• Total Estimates: 3 - 4 Days
• The Aviation Staff are using this exercise to show their ability to move materials to remote locations - which can be vital in times of natural disasters. Training CRD staff on these exercises increases their pool of persons available.

By Boat to complete reef construction and placement of oak limb bundles:

• Labor Estimates includes: 2 vessels, 13 staff
• Total Estimates: 12 Days
• Point of Contact: General Information: Nancy Butler
• Technical information: January Murray, 912-264-7218