Oyster restoration in Coastal Alabama is continuing with funding through the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resources Damage Assessment Program (NRDA). $7 million to aid the efforts has been approved by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), reports Outdoor Alabama.
The funds are to be used under the NRDA Regionwide Trustee Implementation Group Restoration Plan I, which will go toward helping “Improving Resilience for Oysters by Linking Brood Reefs and Sink Reefs.”
Outdoor Alabama reports this will be done through creating new brood reefs or making additions to existing reefs along areas of Mobile Bay. ADCNR is the Implementing Trustee for this project, which will span seven years and includes planning, implementation and monitoring
“Our Marine Resources Division have made substantial changes to the way our oyster resources are managed,” Chris Blankenship, ADCNR Commissioner and Lead Trustee for Alabama, told the outlet. "We have invested heavily in oyster research, reef mapping, oyster larval transport models and research and hardscape restoration activities."
“We have implemented oyster management stations for commercial harvesters and employ a revolutionary grid system to monitor harvest," he continued. "We are enhancing reefs in harvestable and protected areas and are partnering with many academic and non-governmental organizations and our federal partners to grow our oyster resources.”
An additional funding of $2.8 million to the project is proposed in NRDA Alabama Trustee Implementation Group Restoration Plan IV, reports Outdoor Alabama. That plan is in the final stages of the restoration process and should be completed by November 2024. Read more on those topics here.
ADCNR’s Marine Resources Division will host an oyster meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 27 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Bayou La Batre Community and Senior Center on Padgett Switch Road in Irvington.
The focus of the meeting will be to update the community about activities related to the management of Alabama’s oyster fisheries and to receive public input.
Read more about the Coastal Alabama oyster restoration efforts here.
