The Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) is an iconic food and cultural resource in Coastal Alabama. An important indicator of the health of the Bay, oysters form reefs that provide habitat for other estuarine species, reduce long-term erosion of the shoreline, and filter pollutants from the water itself. A single oyster can remove harmful nitrogen and sediments from approximately ten gallons of water per day. Unfortunately, local populations of the Eastern oyster continue to dramatically decline due to both human and environmental impacts, and it is estimated that more than 80 percent of Mobile Bay’s oyster populations have decreased since 1950, according to commercial landings data.
Last year, working under the guidance of Auburn University Marine Extension and Research Center’s Oyster Gardening Program, Mobile Baykeeper joined numerous partners in an effort to bring back the oysters of Mobile Bay. We returned approximately 40,000 mature oysters to Mobile Bay last year and hope to more than double that number this year. As we scale our oyster gardening efforts up, our goal is to deploy 500,000 oysters by 2027.
We are currently on track to return 500,000 mature oysters to Mobile Bay by 2027.
The program expanded and we invited more dock owners to participate. We expect to return 80,000 mature oysters to Mobile Bay in 2024.
40,000 Mature Oysters returned to Mobile Bay