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HORN POINT, Md. -- During the summer and fall of 2002 UMCES
researchers teamed with private and state agencies to create the 6-acre
Memorial Stadium Oyster Reef Sanctuary, created with rubble from Baltimore's
famous arena. An innovative oyster reef restoration project, it was a
joint project among the Center, private and state agencies and was aimed
at restoring oyster in the upper Chesapeake Bay where oyster reefs were
once abundant.
For the Memorial Stadium project, Dr. Donald "Mutt" Meritt and Horn Point
Laboratory Shellfish Culture Facility technicians at UMCES were
charged with populating 14
concrete reef balls designed for the project with oyster spat. Reef
balls are commonly used in coral reef restoration but this project was
the first time they were used for oyster spat. Using more than 20 million
oyster larvae, the reef balls were set at the culture facility for a week
before being transported into the lab's nursery in the Choptank River,
done with the assistance of the Oyster
Recovery Partnership.
On October 3, the reef balls along with 10,000 cubic yards of rubble were
planted at the reef site, three miles of Tolchester beach in Kent County.
This project was one of over 15 oyster restoration projects created in
2002 that utilized the over 73 million oyster spat produced in 2002 at
the Center's culture facility. The shellfish culture facility at Horn
Point in a cooperative partnership with the Oyster Recovery Partnership
produces more than 90 percent of all culture-produced oyster spat in the
state. Oyster larvae and spat produced in this facility are used to
support the University's research, education, and outreach programs and
is a major contributor to culture-based oyster restoration projects
around Maryland.
Partners in the Memorial Stadium Oyster Reef project include: Maryland Environmental Service, Maryland Department of Natural
Resources, Maryland Department
of the Environment, Maryland Saltwater
Sportfisherman’s Association, Coastal
Conservation Association, Oyster
Recovery Partnership, NOAA Chesapeake Bay office, Maryland Watermen’s Association,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, UMCES
and others.
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