Welcome!
This website provides information about the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) in the Great Bay estuarine system in New Hampshire. Our laboratory has been involved in a variety of restoration projects ranging from small experimental oyster "mini-reefs" to combined experimental/full-scale restoration (see Current Reef Restoration Projects). Our overall goal is to continue to develop innovative, effective, and cost-efficient techniques for restoration of oyster populations in New Hamphire. Our program includes a shell recycling program, projects involving sonar and underwater video reef mapping methods, improved remote setting techniques, and new reef construction approaches.
Have you ever seen a New Hampshire oyster reef?
This video was taken using one of our underwater video systems as it was slowly towed across a natural, undisturbed oyster reef
in New Hampshire. Most of our still productive (see Oysters in New Hampshire) reefs are regularly worked by harvesters using tongs and have very little vertical relief. The reef in the video, however, is in an area where harvesting is prohibited. Note the presence of many clumps of oysters that extend vertically several centimeters into the water column. Also, notice an area that appears to have been damaged (by boat anchor?) near the end of the video. This reef had an average of about 500 oysters per square meter (all size classes) when this video was taken, a density that is about 10-fold the typical density of NH reefs.
Oysters in the news -
Read the article from New Hampshire Sea Grant science writer, Rebecca Zeiber, about oyster shell recycling and our restoration efforts in Great Bay!
UPDATE 8/01/08
Oyster Conservationists are up and running for our 3rd season!
Let us know if you're interested in this program.
Please contact Krystin Ward at The Nature Conservancy
