Billion Oyster Project takes big step forward in scaling urban oyster-setting capacity despite COVID-19 limitations

July 17, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Today, Billion Oyster Project (BOP) is excited to announce that it is well on its way to scaling its oyster restoration capacity by 500%. Thanks to a new partnership with Red Hook Terminals — one of two remaining shipping container terminals in the five boroughs — the nonprofit organization has a new waterfront setting facility where it has retrofitted four 9000-gallon SeaBox shipping containers into oyster tanks, teeming with Harbor water and oyster larvae.

“This is a big moment for our crew and community at large” says BOP’s Executive Director Pete Malinowski. “To see this work come together, despite the challenges that COVID threw our way,  shows us that oyster restoration can be done — at scale — in an urban setting. It is also a testament to the expertise and enthusiasm of our staff.”

Since 2014, the Billion Oyster Project has relied on its staff, volunteers, high school students, and limited space to spawn, feed, and prepare “spat on shell” (juvenile oysters settled on reclaimed oyster shells) for deployment in New York Harbor. With those resources, the organization has successfully restored more than 30 million oysters across 13 reef sites, covering seven acres in New York Harbor. Knowing that oyster reefs create habitat for hundreds of marine species, and that one adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water each day, 30 million oysters is a small step in the right direction - but the journey to BOP’s ultimate goal — one billion oysters by 2035 — required significant scaling of the organization’s efforts.

“As soon as it was safe for small groups of our staff to move out of quarantine, we began assembling the gabions (reef structures), and cleaning and loading shell on Governors Island” explains Katie Mosher, Director of Restoration at Billion Oyster Project. “The pace has been fast, the work has been physically challenging, and most of all, we really feel the loss of community from not having students and volunteers working with us. Still, we’re excited about getting the reef habitat in the water this month and the long-term impacts that it will have on the ecology of the East and Bronx Rivers.”

Earlier this year, the outbreak of COVID-19 was a major setback to Billion Oyster Project’s most ambitious oyster restoration effort to date. Thanks to socially distanced BOP “quaran-teams”, combined with space and manpower donated by Red Hook Terminals, BOP is on track to install an estimated 40 million oysters this summer alone. 

“Red Hook Terminals is proud to have teamed up with BOP for this exciting project” said Del Bobish, Executive Vice President at Red Hook Terminals. “It’s a natural fit for a working waterfront to provide space for such an important cause that truly has a positive impact on our environment and waterways. It’s our obligation to the environment to support groups like this.”

The new waterfront facility at Red Hook Terminals is a major step forward in scaling Billion Oyster Project’s oyster-setting capacity — starting with a large habitat restoration project unfolding at Soundview Park at the mouth of the Bronx River. Billion Oyster Project is the lead organization on this effort, which will create 5 acres of oyster reef habitat by 2022 thanks to funding from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). It will create opportunities for the public to participate in this restoration effort with hands-on, interactive learning experiences, and will allow the Soundview Reef Project partners, including the Hudson River Foundation, NY/NJ Baykeeper, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, Rocking The Boat, and the Bronx River Alliance, to measure ecosystem services provided by the restored oyster reef.

To follow the oyster-centric excitement this summer, subscribe to BOP’s newsletter, and be sure to follow BOP on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, along with the #SoundviewReefs hashtag.

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About Billion Oyster Project (BOP) is a nonprofit organization on a mission to restore oyster reefs to New York Harbor through public education initiatives. Oyster reefs have the ability to filter water, provide habitat for many marine species, and help shield NYC shorelines from storm damage. Founded on the belief that restoration without education is temporary, and observing that learning outcomes improve when students have the opportunity to work on real restoration projects, collaborating with public schools is fundamental to BOP’s work. BOP designs STEM curriculum through the lens of oyster restoration for NYC schools and engages The Urban Assembly New York Harbor School students in large-scale restoration projects. Prior to COVID-19, BOP collected discarded oyster shells from 75 NYC restaurants and had engaged thousands of volunteers. The project has planted more than 30 million oysters and installed 13 reef sites with 6,000 students and 10,000 volunteers.