After a decade of sustained effort, the 5-acre reef site adjacent to the college is self-sustaining and incredibly productive! After finishing a comprehensive survey of the site in 2022 and 2023, we have decided to allow our permits to expire and to let nature continue to work its magic on this site. So many of you have been involved in this project, and it is truly incredible to see how far it has come. We’ve built and deployed over 2,700 reef balls, planted over 8,000 bushels of spat on shell, and added 250 tons of concrete rubble to this site.
Our efforts have been well worth it! We found that our reef has met and exceeded four criteria defined by the Chesapeake Bay Program to constitute a successful oyster reef. As one example of how successful we have been, the target oyster density for a self-sustianing oyster reef is 50 oysters per m2. Our oyster reef had a density of 241 oysters per m2.
For a more detailed report of this project, please see our final report linked here.
