spat on oyster shellCrosbreed oysters
South Mill Pond - 2001
Location:
South Mill Pond, Portsmouth NH
bellmay river 2005
Click on map for larger view.
Date of Construction:
September 2001
Funding Agencies:
NOAA’s Community-Based Habitat Restoration Program, Gulf of Maine Council for the Marine Environment,
The Greater Piscataqua Community Foundation
Restoration Area:

<0.01 acres
Shellfish Species:
eastern oyster and blue mussel
Broodstock Source:
Virginia - CROSBreed disease resistant
Construction Material:
spat on shell, mussel transfer from local bed
# of Oysters Deployed:
50,000 oysters and 50,000 blue mussels
Monitoring Progress:
Restoration Status:
High mortality
Adams Point - 2003
Location:
Adams Point, Durham NH (Great Bay)
bellmay river 2005
Click on map for larger view.
Date of Construction:
September 2003
Funding Agencies:
National Estuarine Research Reserve Graduate Fellowship, Hatch Foundation
Restoration Area:

0.05 acres
Shellfish Species:
eastern oyster
Broodstock Source:
Maine - Damariscotta strain
Construction Material:
spat on oyster shell and granite
# of Oysters Deployed:
108,000 oysters
Monitoring Progress:
Restoration Status:
Excellent growth (avg. size 90.7mm),
high mortality (3.5% survival after 4 years)
Nannie Island - 2004
Location:
Nannie Island, Newington NH (Great Bay)
bellmay river 2005
Click on map for larger view.
Date of Construction:
September 2004
Funding Agency:
New Hampshire Estuaries Project
Restoration Area:

1.25 acres
Shellfish Species:
eastern oyster
Broodstock Source:
Maine - Damariscotta strain
Construction Material:
spat on oyster shell and granite
# of Oysters Deployed:
55,000 oysters
Monitoring Progress:
Restoration Status:
Low mortality (40% survival after 2 years)
Bellamy River - 2005
Location:
Bellamy River, Dover NH
bellmay river 2005
Click on map for larger view.
Date of Construction:
November 2005
Funding Agencies::
City of Dover, New Hampshire Estuaries Project,
The Nature Conservancy/NOAA
Restoration Area:

1.5 acres (southern area, western half of channel), 0.1 acre (northern area)
Shellfish Species:
eastern oyster
Broodstock Source:
New Hampshire - Nannie Island
Construction Material:
spat on oyster shell
# of Oysters Deployed:
310,000 oysters
Monitoring Progress:
none
Restoration Status:
High mortality (10% survival)

Current Oyster Reef Restoration Projects

As of April 2007, there were five sites in the Piscataqua River/Great Bay estuarine system where shellfish (the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, and other bivalve species) restoration activities are ongoing. All six projects involved remote setting of larvae from a disease-resistant/fast-growth strain of oyster, but differed in other ways related to reef size and spat density and/or arrangement of the individual reefs within the overall project area. For an overview map of all sites, please click here.

The tables and maps below provide an overview of the characteristics, history, and status of each site. Click on each map for a larger image.

Bellamy River - 2006
Location:
Bellamy River, Dover NH

Click on map for larger view.
Date of Construction:
October 2006
Funding Agencies:
The Nature Conservancy/NOAA,
Natural Resource Conservation Service (WHIP)
Restoration Area:

0.75 acres (southern area, eastern half of channel),
0.2 acres (northern area)

Shellfish Species:
eastern oyster, ribbed mussel, and blue mussel
Broodstock Source:
New Hampshire - Nannie Island
Construction Material:
spat on oyster shell, mussel transfer from local boat hull
# of Oysters Deployed:
700,000 oysters and 3,000 mussels (southern area),
170,000 oysters and 5,000 mussels (northern area)
Monitoring Progress:
none
Restoration Status:
Sampling scheduled for Spring 2007
Oyster Research Home
Salmon Falls River - 2000
Location:
Salmon Falls River, Dover NH
bellmay river 2005
Click on map for larger view.
Date of Construction:
September 2000
Funding Agencies:
Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology
Restoration Area:

0.1 acres
Shellfish Species:
eastern oyster
Broodstock Source:
Virginia - CROSBreed disease resistant
Construction Material:
spat on shell and adult oyster transfer from local reef
# of Oysters Deployed:
22,000 oysters
Monitoring Progress:
Restoration Status:
High mortality