Florida Fossil Oyster Shells Delivered to Chesapeake Bay

posted in: Chesapeake Bay News | 0

A year-long partnership between the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and CSX recently came to a close with delivery of the 22nd and final freight train filled with fossilized oyster shells from Florida to the Chesapeake Bay.

Over the past 12 months, CSX has transported about 100,000 tons of the fossilized shell to help rebuild habitat in two Maryland oyster sanctuaries. Trains carrying the shells were delivered to CSX’s Curtis Bay ore pier once every 10 to 14 days, where the shells were transferred to barges for the trip to the sanctuaries on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Due to a lack of natural, affordable shell available to support restoration of the two sanctuaries, DNR and its partners made the decision to obtain fossilized shell from Gulf Coast Aggregates near Carrabelle, Florida. To address the challenge and expense of moving the large volume of material, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation negotiated an agreement with CSX to transport the shell at cost.

Maryland purchased the materials at a cost of approximately $6.3 million. CSX provided an in-kind investment valued at approximately $2.4 million in the form of reduced-cost transportation. The Maryland Environmental Service is coordinating the effort on behalf of the state. Production of young oysters and their placement on the new reefs will be conducted by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the Oyster Recovery Partnership.

The sanctuaries were chosen for the initial large-scale restoration project because their water quality, salinity levels, shape, location, and protected sanctuary status all point to a high likelihood of success. More than 150,000 cubic yards of granite from a Maryland quarry also will be used as substrate in the sanctuaries. Scientists believe the project ultimately can serve as a blueprint to expand large-scale oyster restoration efforts to other Bay tributaries.

source: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

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