Synopsis:

 

Currently there are four new and on-going native oyster restoration projects, (funded primarily by the NOAA Restoration Center’s Community-based Restoration program) occurring in San Francisco Bay.  Community volunteers and local scientists from the Marin Rod and Gun Club, Tiburon Audubon, Save the Bay and Marine Science Institute have dropped wood pallets stacked with oyster shell into San Francisco Bay in the hopes of restoring the native oyster (Ostreola conchaphila) population.  The projects, planned and implemented by the volunteer groups have received funding by various federal, state, non-profit and private organizations listed below.  The oyster reefs will be monitored by the community volunteers by measuring the amount of oyster settlement and water quality associated with them. 

 

The Ocean Protection Council, a council set forth by Governor Schwarzenegger, has designated native oyster and eelgrass restoration in SF Bay as a high priority and has allocated $350,000 of Conservancy funds reserved to study and plan for future oyster and eelgrass restoration in San Francisco Bay.

 

Prior to the gold rush, native oysters inhabited the shallow fringes of the North and South San Francisco Bay.  Today there are only a few remnant populations that exist but are still releasing larvae into the water in the hopes of settling.   The goal of these projects is to provide hard substrate, in the form of oyster shell, which will enable these small oysters to settle and build reefs.  Aside from re-establishing the population, the native oyster provides other benefits such as cleaner water and habitat for small fish and invertebrates.  See additional information in NOAA briefing document. 

 

Additional funding sources and partners

 

Governmental financial support for restoration provided by:

NOAA Restoration Center • NOAA Fisheries Southwest Region • Coastal America   U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service • California Coastal Conservancy

 

Private financial support for restoration provided by:

DOW Chemical • Oldcastle Glass. • Tiburon Peninsula Foundation • Rockey Fund

 

Non-profit support for restoration provided by:

FishAmerica Foundation • Marin Rod and Gun Club • Save the Bay • Tiburon Audubon Center • Marine Science Institute • Institute for Fisheries Resources

 

 

 

 

Partners in restoration include:

Bay Conservation and Development Commission • Department of Fish and Game • State Lands Commission • US Army Corps • UC Davis • San Francisco State University US Coast Guard