(October, 2020) OCSCD continues to further our efforts on the Sustainable Practices for Aquaculture Resource Conservation grant project (SPARC). This past month District Erosion Control Specialist Kristin Adams joined Dr. Christine Thompson and Steve Evert from the Stockton University Marine Field Station as they gathered data on the Tuckerton Reef, an oyster reef restoration site.
With funding from the Barnegat Bay Partnership and the Jetty Rock Foundation, Stockton University has contracted with Parsons Mariculture to make the Tuckerton Reef site the first of its kind in southern Barnegat Bay. Established in 2016, this two-acre restoration site is monitored annually by Stockton research faculty and students, once at the beginning of the growing season in May or June, and again at the end of the growing season in October or November.
Sampling includes water quality data, volume of the reef building materials and other organisms (oyster, clam and whelk shell, sponges, etc.), live oyster quantities and lengths, naturally set oysters and evidence of predation by oyster drills. This data helps to guide the future efforts of restoring health to the Barnegat Bay and Atlantic Intercoastal bays.
Learn more about SPARC on the OCSCD website.
