The Delaware Bay The Delaware Bay Oyster Oyster

Restoration ProgramRestoration Program

R. Babb, J.Hearon and C. Tomlin NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife

Delaware Bay OfficePort Norris, NJ 08349, USA

E. Powell, D. Bushek and K. Alcox Rutgers University

Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, Port Norris, NJ 08349, USA

Crassostrea virginica is an estuarine species inhabiting waters of ~ 5 to 30 ppt (ocean water is typically 35 ppt)

New York

Philadelphia

Baltimore

Washington

Chesapeake Bay

Delaware Bay

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Round Island

Upper Arnolds

Arnolds

Upper Middle

Middle

Shell Rock

Ship John

Cohansey

Nantuxent

Bennies

Bennies Sand

Vexton

Egg IslandLedge

New Beds

BeadonsHawk's Nest

StrawberryHog Shoal

6.5 - 14.5 ppt

9.0 - 16.5 ppt

14.0 - 20.0 ppt

17.0 - 22.5ppt

UPPER

UPPER CENTRAL

CENTRAL

LOWER

Sea Breeze

New Jersey

Delaware

Ecosystem Function

Oysters are a keystone species in the Delaware Bay, providing the basis for a vast community of benthic organisms.

 Oysters and the reefs they create increase habitat and faunal diversity and through their high filtration capacity, they can even improve water quality.

Bivalve, NJ - 1928

Haskin Lab

Oystering By Sail & Power

Seed Beds

Leased Grounds

Seed Beds

Leased Grounds (33,000+ acres)

Traditional

FisheryCulture Intensive

• Wild oyster seed harvested from seed beds in upper bay (good survival but slow growth)

• Seed transplanted to leased grounds in lower bay (good growth and market-quality meats)

Prosperity!

Important to note that this harvest was augmented from oyster seed imported from southern states. Not really sustainable!

1880-1930

Annual harvests from 1 to 2 million

bu.

0

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450,000

YEAR

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New Jersey Oyster Landings - Delaware Bay1956 - 2008

Direct Market Program

MSX Strikes

Courtesy of S. Ford

Gradual Recovery &

Limited Entry

•1960s & 1970s: Native oysters develop some resistance to MSX disease.

•Population abundance was high and relatively stable during the 1970s.

•1981: NJDEP implements a limited-entry licensing system

•Through mid ‘80s, oyster industry provides steady employment

They are still fishing!!!!

MSX & Dermo!

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New Jersey Oyster Landings - Delaware Bay1956 - 2008

Direct Market Program

Beds Closed

Beds Closed

Dermo

MSX AgainMSX

Direct Market

A Change In Management

1995: Due to Dermo --- Direct Market Program allows oystermen to harvest oysters (> 2.5 inches) for direct sale.

1996-2008: 35 to 77 vessels participate annually

State of Delaware begins direct market program in 2001

Harvest Stabilization

Significant progress has been made toward stabilizing oyster production.

Delaware Bay consistently produces a high value oyster

Photo: B.C. Posadas

Bay Wide Spat Set 1953-2007

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2007

Year

Spat Per Bushel

Average Spat per Bu.

Pre-Dermo Baywide Mean

Post-Dermo Baywide Mean

Low Recruitment Mean

Unprecedented Low Recruitment!

Dermo Onset

It’s Not Rocket Science!

Clean Shell, Right Place, Right Time = Baby Oysters

Towed Camera Divers

Hard…Soft mud…shell…

man I hate this!

I still got time…I can still change my major….be a roofer…a Sewage plant

gate cleaner!

THE POLE

Pole Trainee

Bottom classification based on ‘hardness’

Acoustic-Sediment

Classification

DE Coastal Program

Bart Wilson, Dave Carter

Many Thanks to Delaware Coastal Mgmt. Program!!!

Purple = shell

Bottom sediment distribution on NOAA bathymetry chart, showing the slumping of oyster shell from the Middle / Ship John beds into channel.

Middle

Ship John

Courtesy of DNREC – Bart Wilson

Main Ship Channel

High Recruitment Zones of Lower Bay

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75.7 75.5 75.3 75.1 74.9 74.7

NEW JERSEY

DELAWARE

DELAWAREBAY

50+35-50

35-5020-35

20-35

5-20

CapeMay

CapeHenlopen

Percentage of years in which natural oyster set on NJ side of Bay will be at least 20 spat per clean oyster shell surface

NJDEP’s Pilot Project

During the summer of 2003, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) conducted a multiphase shell-planting program with the objective of augmenting juvenile abundance on the state seed beds by taking advantage of the extraordinary set potential of the lower Bay.

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75.7 75.5 75.3 75.1 74.9 74.7

75.7 75.5 75.3 75.1 74.9 74.7

NEW JERSEY

DELAWARE

DELAWAREBAY

50+35-50

35-5020-35

20-35

5-20

CapeMay

CapeHenlopen

Shell planted – July ‘03

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75.7 75.5 75.3 75.1 74.9 74.7

75.7 75.5 75.3 75.1 74.9 74.7

NEW JERSEY

DELAWARE

DELAWAREBAY

50+35-50

35-5020-35

20-35

5-20

CapeMay

CapeHenlopen

NJDEP’s Pilot Project

Spatted shell reharvested – Sept. ‘03

What did we get out of this project?

• 25,000 bu. clam shell planted

• ~16,500 bu. of spatted cultch recovered and transplanted

• ~1,800 spat per bushel (112 times the ’03 Bay average (only 16 spat/bu.!)

• 30 million oysters were transplanted to the restoration site (Bennies Sand).

• 2006 SAW estimated the site would

contribute 13,393 bushels to the 2006

harvest, a 26% increase.

• Ex-vessel value of nearly $500,000 (project cost $42,000)

Total economic benefit of nearly $3 million dollars.

• Total cost-benefit ratio > $50 to every $1 invested by the State.

What did we get out of this project?

A Partnership Approach!US Army Corps of Engineers US Army Corps of Engineers

NJDEP, Division of Fish and WildlifeNJDEP, Division of Fish and Wildlife

DEDNREC, Division of Fish & WildlifeDEDNREC, Division of Fish & Wildlife

NJ & DE Oyster IndustryNJ & DE Oyster Industry

Rutgers University, Haskin LaboratoryRutgers University, Haskin Laboratory

Delaware River and Bay AuthorityDelaware River and Bay Authority

Delaware River Basin CommissionDelaware River Basin Commission

Partnership for the Delaware EstuaryPartnership for the Delaware Estuary

Delaware Estuary ProgramDelaware Estuary Program

Township of CommercialTownship of Commercial

State & Federal Legislative TeamState & Federal Legislative Team

Cumberland Co. Empowerment ZoneCumberland Co. Empowerment Zone

Combined efforts of partners have led to the use of $6.5 million in an effort to revitalize the oyster resource in

Delaware Bay.

PRIME THE PUMP AND THE INDUSTRY WILL FUND SHELLPLANTING PROGRAM

NJ AND DE OYSTERMEN PAY A $1.25- $2.00 PER BUSHEL LANDING FEE

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Over the Bar

Silver

Pleasanton's RockDrum

Lower Middle

Ridge

Shell Rock Nantuxent

Hawk's Nest

Bennies Sand

New Jersey

Delaware Delaware Bay

Cohansey

Ship John

Middle

2005

20062007

NJ & DE Sites19 sites in NJ

9 sites in DE

Load it! Measure it!

Plant it! Move it!

Count it!

10 - 11 May 2005Delaware Estuary Science Conference

2005 2006 20070

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Averages

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on plant on native

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Low recruitment years

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2007

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Good Year throughout

Bay

Native vs. Planted Shell

How Have We Done So far?The ’05 -‘08 programs involved the planting of ~1.8 million bushels of shell throughout the Bay.

2005 Metrics:Plantings had mean recruitment rates nearly 14 times the baywide mean.

2006 Metrics:Native shell in NJ naturally attracted only 21 spat per bushel, baywide. In contrast, shell planted in high recruitment zones yielded ~ 2,200+ spat per bushel ---- over 105 times more spat than native shell.

2007 Metrics:Good set throughout Bay – breaks string of 7 yrs of poor recruitment.Native shell performed as well as planted shell. Shell budget of NJ beds in balance for first time in a decade.

*2006+2007 set

2007 Harvest in NJ = 81,235 Bushels

Multiple year harvest projections, while often tenuous due to the vagaries of nature, have the potential to significantly increase future

commercial harvests.

2006 >139,000 bushels*

2007 >108,000 bushels

2005 >57,000 bushels

Bushels Planted Projected Yield

230,648

478,650

275,683

2008 350,000+ ???????????

Year

Harvest Projections from Restoration Sites

“The Wizard”

Dr. Eric Powell

The Tip of the Spear

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75.7 75.5 75.3 75.1 74.9 74.7

75.7 75.5 75.3 75.1 74.9 74.7

NEW JERSEY

DELAWARE

DELAWAREBAY

50+35-50

35-5020-35

20-35

5-20

CapeMay

CapeHenlopen

New Jersey MUST find a way to utilize the Cape Shore Flats

My Personal Crusade!

Questions?

Program is designed to “jump-start” the process while increasing industry reinvestment. Designed to be self-sustaining

Seems to be working!

Thompson’s Beach, Cumberland Co., NJ

“Forty-two percent of all statistics are made up”

– Steven Wright, Comedian,

Fake Author