Oyster ReefHabitat Restoration in St. Andrews Bay, Florida

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Project partners included:

Who are we?

Florida Fish and WildlifeConservation Commission

St. Andrew Bay Watch

UF/IFAS Bay County Extension

Florida Sea Grant

AMIkids Panama City Marine Institute

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Funding provided by:National Fish and Wildlife

Foundation

The State of Florida

Want to volunteer?Contact us!

We will need help monitoring the progress of the reefs and the seagrass beds.

2/2017

What’s going on in St. Andrews Bay?

St. Andrew Bay is exceptional among Gulf Coast estuaries for its biological diversity and clear, high-salinity waters in which seagrasses flourish.

Beginning in the 1970s, discharge of Panama City Beach’s wastewater effluent and commercial shrimp farming activities caused damage to seagrass communities in West Bay, one of four hydrologically connected bays in the St. Andrew Bay estuary system.

The recent elimination of these adverse effects has created conditions more favorable for estuarine habitat restoration and enhancement efforts in West Bay.

What did we do?The FWC and partners installed 3.75 acres of oyster reef habitat along the western shoreline of West Bay. The

restored habitat features 67 individual reefs stretching over 2 miles from north to south in about 5 feet of water.

Most reefs consist of an outer wall of biodegradable oyster shell bags and a center filled with roughly 1-2 feet of clean, recycled oyster shells.

The restored oyster reefs mimic natural reef shapes, with gaps between reefs allowing for natural water flow. The created reefs will help improve water quality and keep sediments in place. They also will foster the recovery of seagrass resources shoreward of the reef structures.

Oysters are ecosystem engineers.

What are the project benefits?

Enhance the oyster populationCreate fisheries habitat Reduce wave energy and protect the shoreline Improve water clarity and quality Create conditions more suitable for recruitment and recovery of 200 acres of seagrass

Volunteers assist with monitoring reef growth.

Shell covered in young oysters after just 2 months in the water.

What are the project benefits?

Oysters of market size after one year18 different species of fish, including gray snapper, pinfish, hardhead catfish and black drum13 different species of invertebrates including stone crabs and blue crabs