Two organizations you would not expect to see sharing a news release today did.

Dave Matthews

The NY/NJ Baykeeper, the environmental group dedicated to protecting and restoring the Hudson and Raritan estuary, announced it has received a $16,057 grant from the Dave Mathews Band‘s Bama Works Fund, through its special Hurricane Sandy Relief
grants.

The funding will be used to relocate and rebuild Baykeeper’s
Aquaculture Facility that was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. The group said the funding also will it to achieve our goal to place 50,000 research oysters in
the waters of Naval Weapons Station Earle.  


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The Baykeeper’s news release provides the following details:

Baykeeper’s Aquaculture facility
houses its 450 gallon tanks used for setting oyster larvae onto shell for
oyster restoration projects. Once the oyster larvae have been set on the shell,
and grown for about two months, they are ready for release onto newly
established oyster beds, or reefs, around the region.  

 In August 2010, NJ DEP, because
of alleged concerns about poaching, banned research, restoration, and education
projects using oysters in waters where shellfish harvesting is
prohibited.  As a result, Baykeeper approached the Navy about placing
oyster nets at Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Earle, which is under 24/7 security,
and therefore eliminates any poaching risk. 

 Oyster survival research
began at NWS Earle in October, 2011. Baykeeper and its research partner,
Rutgers University, recently received a permit from New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection to utilize 10.7 acres of Navy property
for oyster restoration and research.  Because NWS Earle is the only
research site available to Baykeeper, the aquaculture facility is moving from Highlands
and being rebuilt on NWS Earle property.  This summer Baykeeper will place
50,000 research oysters in the waters of NWS Earle.  

 “Our oyster research is
continually supported by acts of generosity,” said Meredith Comi, Oyster
Restoration Program Director. “Bama Works is helping us to rebuild
and NWS Earle is the new home for our research. We are so grateful,” Comi
added.  

Oysters are filter feeders that
can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, removing pollutants.  By
filtering particles out of the water, oysters reduce turbidity which promotes
plant life. They are vital to the ecological integrity of the Hudson-Raritan
Estuary and Baykeeper has been working to restore oyster beds in NY and NJ
waters since 1999. Oysters naturally build up in reefs that provide refuge for
juvenile fish and protect the shoreline by dampening storm energy and
preventing erosion.