The Florida Channel covers ABSI's oyster restoration experiments and the project's long-term goals.
Check out page 8 and 9 of the St. George Island Civic Club's Newsletter - The Islander! The ABSI project is featured with some great updates on our restoration project.
The Apalachicola Bay System Initiative (ABSI) hatchery team has had a busy spring and summer! The hatchery staff, Shannon Kirk (technician), Joe Rocco (manager), and interns Morgan Hawkins and Benton Jaco have successfully completed ABSI’s first oyster spawning and setting.
“So we are out here at Peanut Ridge, which is a reef in Apalachicola Bay.” Chris Matechik with the FSU Coastal and Marine Lab is driving a boat around experimental oyster plots marked by color-coded stakes. Oyster boats are pulling up between green-flagged stakes and dumping bins of rocks into the water...."We are conducting a series of restoration experiments, and so what we are doing is testing three different materials that might be useful for restoration on a larger scale."
The FSU Apalachicola Bay System Initiative (ABSI) is in the process of deploying oyster reef restoration experiments in Apalachicola Bay in two locations: Dry Bar in the western part of the Bay, and Peanut Ridge in the east. The objective of these experiments is to test the effectiveness and stability of three different materials; natural shell and two sizes of limestone rock. Over the past two days, the ABSI team has been working with local oystermen to deploy oyster shell and small limestone rock at Peanut Ridge. Next weekend, they will launch from Apalachicola to deploy these same materials at Dry Bar.
The Apalachicola Bay System Initiative is thrilled to welcome its first two hatchery interns, Morgan Hawkins and Benton Jaco. Morgan and Benton will be assisting ABSI’s Hatchery Manager, Joe Rocco, and Hatchery Technician, Shannon Kirk, this summer. Currently, the ABSI hatchery team is rearing young oysters to set them on oyster shell and then transfer them to the field (the Bay) where our scientists can monitor their growth and survival rates. This internship program is funded by the Lazzara Family Foundation.
Franklin County has launched a new pilot program in an effort to recycle oyster shells, according to a press release. The program, O.Y.S.T.E.R., or Offer Your Shell To Enhance Restoration, will recycle oyster shells from participating restaurants and use them in coastal restoration projects. Some of these recycled shells will be put to use by the Apalachicola Bay System Initiative.
Spring is upon us and the ABSI research teams have been in full swing! Here’s a quick update on the current projects.
In 2012, Florida’s famed Apalachicola Bay oyster industry collapsed. In 2013, the federal government declared a fishery disaster, and in 2014 Florida sued Georgia, arguing that state was responsible for the failure. The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Monday, but as the two states await a decision, some key players say the issue won’t end with the ruling. Photo Credit: Jessica Palombo, WFSU
