Did you know that one oyster can filter up to 50 Gallons of water each day? We are lucky to live in Manhasset and be surrounded by our beautiful Manhasset Bay. But we can see that the quality of the water has declined over the years due to reasons such as pollution, boating and runoff. Another contributing factor for the decline in water quality in our Bay is the over harvesting of oysters that occurred in the 1880s. The oyster reefs helped maintain the ecosystem and provide natural water filtration for our waters.
As a girl scout we are trained to look around our communities for opportunities to make an impact. As someone who loves the water and lives near it, I felt that learning more about how oysters can improve water quality in Manhasset Bay was something I was excited to be a part of. For my Gold Award, the highest level awarded to a girl scout, I was happy to work with Councilwoman Dalimonte, Town of North Hempstead, Christine LoBuglio, Cornel Cooperative Extension of Nassau County and Patricia Class, Residents Forward, to combine our efforts for the first Pilot Oyster Garden in Manhasset Bay. Our purpose was to build community awareness and give the opportunity for our residents to join our efforts in restoring the oyster population in Manhasset Bay which will in turn filter our waters and improve the water quality.
On July 12, 2024 we lowered 5 cages of spat-on-shell oysters over the Town Dock in Manhasset Bay. The spat-on-shell were provided by CCE Nassau through funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Long Island Sound Study Futures Fund. Juvenile oysters are referred to as spat. For oyster gardening, the spat permanently settle on recycled oyster/ clam shells to form spat-on-shell. As the spat-on-shell grow, they form clusters. The clusters act as the base of oyster reef formation and expansion. Over the course of the summer we gathered with volunteers and trained residents on how to care for the 5 community Oyster Cages containing up to 12,000 spat on oysters. We pulled the cages up from the surface of the water, cleaned the algae and debris from the oyster cages, monitored the cages for predators and removed them from the cages. Finally, we measured the oyster growth to assure that the oysters were growing and able to thrive in the Bay. I helped raise awareness about our Pilot Project at the local Farmers Market and we gathered up to 25 resident volunteers join us for these tasks throughout the summer. We also had residents who live on the water, volunteer to care for oyster cages of their own, for a total of 20,000 oysters.
On October 22, 2024 when the Oysters had reached maturity, (growing from aprox. .3 inches to up to 6 inches), we were ready to release the oysters into the wild. The Manhasset Bay Constable piled the cages in to their boat, containing 12,000 oysters, and dropped them at an undisclosed location in Manhasset Bay. Scientists from Cornell Cooperative of Nassau County will continue to monitor the growth and health of these oysters which will continue to filter up to 600,000 gallons of water each day.
After seeing the success of the community oyster garden this year in Port Washington, we hope to continue these efforts next summer. We hope to get more residents involved in caring for additional cages, grow more oysters that can continue to filter our waters, restore the ecosystem and increase the beautification of our Manhasset Bay.
