Researchers want to find out if hatchery-raised oyster larvae will flourish on experimental plots of oysters on Intracoastal Waterway spoil islands.

Volunteers at the Florida Oceanographic Society (FOS) in Stuart, Florida have been hard at work, constructing square oyster reefs approximately 10 feet long and 14 inches tall for deployment into the St. Lucie River Estuary and the Indian River Lagoon. The oyster reefs are made of potato sack-size clumps of oysters that weigh 20 to 30 pounds.

“As soon as we get the permits, which we hope is by September for the oyster spawn, we’ll start deploying our oyster reefs around Spoil Island 18B,” said Jim Oppenborn, St. Lucie County Marine Resource Coordinator.

Spoil Island 18B, south of Ft. Pierce Inlet, is a favorable spot because there is room for large-scale oyster restoration, it is part of a Coastal Aquatic Managed Area controlled by the Department of Environmental Protection, and oysters were common there 30 years ago.

“The plan is to surround the deployed oyster reefs with ‘turbidity curtains’—basically nets—to deter oyster spat from naturally settling in those areas. Then, we can set out our hatchery spat and see if they recruit and grow as well as natural spat.”

FOS hopes to build seven reefs this year for the Indian River Lagoon and St. Lucie River. St. Lucie County also has plans to build and manage several oyster reefs this year, says Oppenborn.