UNC IMS Oyster Reef Research Project – Dr. Joel Fodrie

CCA North Carolina and the Building Conservation Trust, CCA’s national habitat program, partnered to fund $100,000 for innovative oyster research conducted by Dr. Joel Fodrie at the University of North Carolina Institute of Marine Science in Morehead City.

The grant allowed Fodrie and his team of doctoral candidates to continue ongoing research into oyster reef restoration. Matthew Kenworthy, manager of the Institute’s Fish Ecology Lab, said, “If we have more good quality habitat, we’ll have better and more fish.” It’s not all as easy as dumping oyster shell into the water, he explained. The different habitats of sea grass, mud flats and oyster reefs along with varying water depths create a puzzle that takes research to solve.

Fodrie’s research included building 32 new oyster reefs using different materials and locations to determine the best practices for successful oyster cultivation. The researchers also tagged up to 60 fish of different species with acoustic tags to discover how they use the new and restored oyster reefs.

The UNC research group built 16 reefs using traditional cultch shell, and 16 others using burlap and cement that presents a more three-dimensional structure. Also, of the 32 reefs, 16 were isolated from seagrass beds while the rest placed immediately adjacent to seagrass. In total, there are eight reefs of each unique combination of material and seagrass proximity to determine which combination promotes the best oyster growth.