Successful First Sessions
The Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor’s 2023 season of community oyster gardening officially began on July 26. Volunteers are now working at four different sites to raise a total of approximately 60,000 oysters, all of which will be released into a designated conservation management area in Hempstead Harbor at the end of the summer. There, they will continue to grow, filter water, and serve as a crucial habitat for other species.
Volunteers cleaning cages at the Hempstead Harbour Club (7/28/23)
Spat-on-shell oysters in their cage (7/28/23)
Oyster reef restoration has been shown to increase marine biodiversity. This is a long-term process, but one that is key to the health and resilience of marine ecosystems.
The cages provide insights into a world we don’t typically get to observe. It quickly becomes apparent that each cage holds not only oysters, but a community of organisms interacting in a variety of ways—and the closer you look, the more you’ll find.
One of our most surprising visitors was an eel that made its way out of a cage at Tappen Marina, but it was typical at all locations to see mud crabs and shore shrimp.
Sea squirts (left) and star tunicates (top right)
The most common organism we encounter during cage-cleanings are sea squirts (Molgula manhattensis). Classified as Tunicates, they are invertebrate animals with a rounded, yellowish body and two siphons that they use for filter-feeding. While some other types of tunicates grow in colonies, M. manhattensis is a solitary organism. This species is native to the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States, but can wreak havoc in oyster aquaculture systems by blocking water flow and competing with the oysters for space and food.
Volunteers measuring oysters at Tappen Marina (7/29/23)
Additionally, well-known oyster-reef associates (organisms living on or around oyster reefs) were found at North Hempstead Beach Park. Many young skilletfish—flat and still only a few centimeters long—were present, presumably feeding on worms and small crustaceans that are also present in the cages.
Slipper snails (Crepidula fornicada) (retrieved from biodiversidade.eu)
As the oysters grow, it becomes easier to pick them out on a crowded shell, but currently, it takes a careful eye to distinguish them from the less abundant slipper snails (Crepidula fornicada) that can grow alongside them. Typically, their shells are lighter in color and more rounded/arched than that of an oyster.
To learn more about these organisms and more, check out this guide to commonly seen organisms in oyster gardens.
Volunteers working at North Hempstead Beach Park (7/29/23)
Volunteers working at Sea Cliff Yacht Club (7/30/23)
