Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵ’s Marine Field Station Recovers Lost Oyster Cages
Local oyster farmers are locating gear that was displaced by the recent bay freeze
with help from Steve Evert, associate director of the Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵ Marine Field
Station, and his team.
During the freeze, buoys moved with the tides for days, dragging cages full of oysters off their leases, Evert explained.
Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵ, operating under a NOAA Marine Debris Removal Grant, was able to identify the location of 67 lost oyster cages during a one-day survey in February. The project, an initiative of the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey funded by NOAA, hired Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵ’s Marine Field Station to conduct the work.
Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵ loaned the oyster farmers a side-scan sonar device and provided training. The oyster farmers have been working to recover their gear with the hired help of previously trained commercial crabbers Karen and Warren Unkert.
Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵ has a long history of supporting and training commercial crabbers to use sonar and grapple techniques to recover their gear. The same techniques are now helping oyster farmers.
Researchers at Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵ are actively seeking funding to engage these communities and support a healthier bay and a better bottom line for those who depend on it. Read more about the Marine Field Station’s efforts in the Asbury Park Press.
Pictured, from left-right: Oyster farmers Matt Gregg and Matt Hender pull an oyster cage out of the bay after locating it with side-scan sonar.
-Reported by Susan Allen
