Oyster program may find new home

KEYPORT — The NY/NJ Baykeeper is investigating alternative locations for an oyster restoration project after complying with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) order to remove a research related shellfish reef from Raritan Bay. The Baykeeper, which works to protect the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, is considering the Shrewsbury River as a potential site, based upon the short stream estuary’s noncontaminated water quality.

“I am not convinced that we will have a favorable outcome on that one and it is entirely up to the [DEP],” said Debbie Mans, NY/NJ Baykeeper executive director, in an interview.

“We have asked the department to help us identify sites that they are comfortable with, with respect to where other shellfish habitats are and where they can do patrols. They promised to get back to us on that. In the meantime, we are also still trying to find sites to bring to them that they might think are more suitable.”

Last fall the DEP suggested that the Baykeeper should consider the Shrewsbury River for its shellfish restoration program, but Mans explained that restoring the oyster population to the Keyport Harbor aligned closer with the Baykeeper’s goals of improving the Bayshore.

“We looked at that [Shrewsbury River] area and we did a limited survey of the bottomtomake sure we weren’t disturbing other clams and the habitat,” Mans said. “But apparently the department said that whole area [is] habitats for shellfish, and we cannot actually put in a project that will help enhance the shellfish, but if we want to put a dock in, we probably could.”

In September 2009, the Baykeeper partnered with Rutgers University, the Raritan Riverkeeper and the Hackensack Riverkeeper to create a living Raritan Bay oyster reef constructed of rebar, a type of steel. Seed oysters — used as natural filter feeders to improve the water quality —were placed in mesh bags attached to the vertical structure.

Last month the DEP banned research-related gardening of commercial shellfish in contaminated coastal and inner harbor waters — including the Raritan Bay —after the state violated patrol rules and regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The DEP cited concerns that oysters used for ecological restoration could be poached and sold to consumers, which could create a public health problem. DEP spokesman Lawrence Ragonese previously stated that the department does not have the resources to patrol the areas where shellfish are placed by “gardeners,” due to state budgetary constraints.

After the ban was announced on June 7, the DEP directed that the Baykeeper shut down its quarter-mile oyster-restoration program in Keyport after the organization declined to comply with a previous written request to follow permit requirements.

Baykeeper staff members and volunteers currently monitor the Keyport Harbor area, but Ragonese said the FDA does not allow volunteers to monitor estuaries.

On July 15, the Baykeeper received a notice of violation from the DEP and was required to remove its 150-pound rebar oyster structure from the bay.

The violation notice was issued shortly after the DEP and Baykeeper agreed to work together on a solution. The reef was removed on July 19.

“Taking our reef is not going to put the DEP into compliance with the FDA,” Mans said. “The [FDA] annual report showed that. I think the department needed to make a public stance if they were on the case, and so they decided to use our reef as an example of how they were taking care of the problem. It is kind of distracting folks from the larger issue of the overall statewide inefficiencies of the program that the department still needs to answer the FDA on.”

As an alternative to oyster restoration, Ragonese previously explained that the DEP would encourage the Baykeeper to use noncommercial species for the projects, such as mussels, to stimulate the Raritan Estuary, but Mans said mussels are not the best shellfish for creating a reef habitat.

“Mussels just kind of create a mat, and we do have a lot of mussels in the Navesink and Shrewsbury River,” she said. “I don’t think we need a [mussel] restoration project there. They [mussels] do to some extent filter water, but they don’t create a habitat, they don’t create a reef structure, and they aren’t as useful as an educational tool in the classroom. They are not culturally and historically a significant species here in the harbor. We are on the verge of losing the oyster population in the harbor. That’s the species that needs the most help now.”

According to a July 15 statement from acting DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, the department is reworking the state’s restoration and oyster-gardening rules, and will not issue new permits to ecological restoration projects in prohibited or restricted waters.

Statewide, the DEP is not in FDA compliance with patrol frequency requirements, water sampling, inspection requirements for certified shellfish dealers and pollutionsource tracking, according to the Baykeeper.

Ragonese previously stated that the DEP wants to “ensure compliance with the FDA regulations,” but Mans said the department needs to show some leadership on the Hudson Raritan Estuary, be it in restoration projects, improving water quality or clamping down on combined sewer outfalls.

“I have not yet seen any kind of strategy come out of the department about what they are going to do to improve our conditions in the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, where the majority of the people in the state live,” she said. “If you improve it [water quality] here in the bay, you are improving it in the ocean as well. It all goes out into the ocean, and so you need to start at the source of the pollution. DEP needs to do a much better job at that.”