Oyster restoration projects expanding in Lynnhaven River
Plans include new concrete reefs, cages for volunteers to use
Several new and expanded projects aim to restore oysters in the Lynnhaven River to some of the population’s former glory.
Conservation nonprofit Lynnhaven River NOW last week began building its
first major reef of crushed concrete.
The substance has long been used as an alternative to oyster shells, which are in shorter supply. But it’s the first time the organization is using it on such a scale.
Baby oysters, or spat, require a hard surface, or substrate, on which to grow.
As plankton-sized babies swimming freely, the creatures are very vulnerable, said Helen Kuhns, Lynnhaven River NOW’s assistant director. If there’s not enough substrate, they could drift to far parts of the river with nowhere to settle.
That’s why the organization has worked the past two decades to set up large sanctuary reefs.
The oysters look for a chemical signature in calcium carbonate to find their home. That comes from shells but also concrete, a relatively cheap and plentiful substitute.
The new reef of crushed concrete — 5,000 tons — will be built in stages, in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the city of Virginia Beach and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Officials blow the substance from a barge into the water “at great force” to build a foot-high reef on the river’s bottom, according to a news release. Once the foundation is complete, baby oysters already attached to shells are added to the top.
Pleasure House Creek will see 11 acres of reef completed over the next couple of months, with another 15 acres going in the eastern and western branches of the river later this spring.
That will bring the Lynnhaven area to about 128 acres of sanctuary reef, according to oyster projects coordinator, Brent James. That’s just a fraction of the more than thousand that used to pervade the waterway when Capt. John Smith explored it hundreds of years ago, he said.
“So clearly there is much more work yet to be done.”
Meanwhile, the organization also is expanding a program that allows homeowners to help from their backyards.
The Spat Catcher program recruits volunteers who live in the tidal waters of northern Virginia Beach. Lynnhaven River NOW then gives them each two wire oyster cages to hang from their docks or the like.
One cage contains oyster shell, the other an alternative such as concrete or porcelain.
After a year in the water, the cages are given back to the nonprofit, which counts the number of baby oysters that have emerged. That information is used to gauge the success of various factors, such as the type of substrate. (It’s in part from this program that the organization learned how well concrete works, said executive director Karen Forget.)
The spat are then placed on sanctuary reefs throughout the river.
The Spat Catcher program currently has 20 participants. But a recent grant of just under $10,000 from the Chesapeake Oyster Innovation Awards — supported by the bay foundation — will allow officials to double the program.
Those interested in joining the Spat Catcher program can reach Kuhns at helen@lrnow.org.