Associated Press - June 30, 2007 2:15 PM
ET
OYSTER, Va. (AP) - Some Chesapeake Bay
oysters will have concrete condos.
Students from the Tandem Friends School in
Charlottesville showed on the Eastern Shore last
week, bearing 200 concrete balls. The orbs were
set in salty, shallow water in Magothy Bay near
Skidmore Island and in shallows at Smith
Island.
The experiment brought the school together
with a diverse group: The Nature Conservancy,
the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and Allied Concrete Company.
Allied's president, Gus Lorder, approached
the conservancy a year ago after reading that
concrete might be a suitable habitat for
struggling oysters.
His Charlottesville company donated materials
and concrete, which students shaped into reef
balls.
The experiment is the latest twist in using
alternative materials to attract and grow native
oysters that have been killed off by disease,
lost habitat and overfishing.
If the concrete orbs are successful, Allied
wants to expand the experiment next year.
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