Shellfish Restoration

CSHH launched its first season of community oyster gardening in 2022, inviting volunteers to directly participate in restoring their local waters by raising oysters in cages across three locations. The addition of a fourth site at the North Hempstead Beach Park in 2023 made this a harbor-wide program. At several locations around Hempstead Harbor, volunteers meet biweekly from July through September to clean the cages and track the oysters’ growth, learning about the benefits of a healthy shellfish population and engaging with their environment through hands-on community conservation work.

The Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) plays an important role in marine habitats. As they feed, they improve water quality and clarity by filtering phytoplankton, bacteria, and small particles from their surroundings. An adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day! They also naturally grow in clusters, forming reefs that provide habitat and protection for many other species, helping to support marine biodiversity.  

The oysters grown through this program are not for consumption or commercial purposes. Once large enough, they are released into a protected area where they can live and reproduce, adding to the local population and providing environmental benefits long after the conclusion of the season.

CSHH provides all necessary materials and guidance throughout the process. All volunteers are trained at an oyster gardening orientation before the start of the program. There, volunteers will learn about the tasks they will perform as well as health and safety information. They will also be introduced to basic oyster biology, habitat and ecological relationships, and background on the cultural and economic value of oysters. At the end of the season, an event is held to celebrate the hard work of the volunteers.

In anticipation of the recertification of 2,500 acres of shellfish beds in Hempstead Harbor (June 2011), shellfish restoration projects have been implemented to add clam and oyster biomass to the harbor to help improve water quality and restore shellfish populations. The first project was the October 9, 2007, shellfish seeding conducted for Hempstead Harbor that included over 1.3 million oyster and clam seed. It was a joint initiative that included Nassau County, Town of North Hempstead, Town of Oyster Bay, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Frank M. Flower & Sons Oyster Company, as well as CSHH and the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee (HHPC).

In 2022, HHPC coordinated a Community Project Grant sponsored by Congressman Tom Suozzi and administered by the federal EPA. This grant provides up to 2 million spat-on-shell oysters to be planted in each of the three north shore bays: Hempstead Harbor, Manhasset Bay, and Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor. CSHH has collaborated with HHPC in managing the oyster planting for Hempstead Harbor.

In 2024, over one million oysters were planted in Hempstead Harbor through the Community Project Grant. A portion of the spat-on-shell oysters provided through this grant were grown out by volunteers participating in the CSHH community oyster gardening program. In 2025, nearly 620,000 oysters were directly planted or grown out in the community oyster gardening program. (The oysters that are grown out in the community oyster gardening program and planted later in the season have a higher rate of survivability.)

Both the oysters raised in the gardening program and those directly planted in Hempstead Harbor are in an uncertified area of the harbor, and therefore, they are not suitable for harvesting. However, as they spawn, they will help to provide a growing community of oysters that will improve the water quality and habitat for the harbor.