3609 Hwy 24 (Ocean) | Newport, North Carolina 28570

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2006

Sarah Phillips, Education Coordinator
252-393-8185
sarahp@nccoast.org

Oyster Bagging Event

Oyster Bagging Event
Thursday, February 23rd – NCCF Headquarters
1:10pm to 2:25pm

     Twenty-six students from Croatan High School in Newport are getting out of the classroom to help with local oyster restoration efforts this Thursday afternoon.  Junior and senior biology students will be teaming up with the education coordinator and the habitat restoration specialist from the NC Coastal Federation (NCCF) to bag oyster shell that will be used in oyster reef restoration projects this summer.
     Creating oyster reefs is something the Coastal Federation knows a lot about.  In 2005, the Coastal Federation used over 1,100 oyster bags, three million oyster larvae, and 11,000 bushels of oyster shell to restore over four acres of oyster reef.  Students from Croatan High School know a lot about oysters and oyster habitat, as well; students from Sheila Moore’s biology classes have been involved in monitoring oyster reefs for the past two years.  This Thursday, students will bag as many oyster shells as possible for use in summer Coastal Federation oyster restoration projects.  The bagged shell will be taken to an aquaculture facility, where oyster larvae will be allowed to attach, or “set,” on the shell in the bags. The bags will then be moved to the estuary to grow for a few weeks before the “set shell” is spread onto the newly created oyster reefs.  Students and volunteers monitor these reefs for at least two years.
     NCCF is committed to improving shellfish waters throughout coastal North Carolina, with an emphasis on active restoration projects, responsible land use, and addressing non-point source pollution affecting the coastal watersheds.  The oyster reef restoration effort is a way to restore our native oyster population, provide habitat for finfish and shellfish, and filter and clean our estuarine waters.