Science on Tap: Integrating Aquaculture to Improve Olympia Oyster Restoration in Elkhorn Slough, CA

Can aquaculture be adapted to support conservation and ecosystem restoration? The only native oyster on our coast, the Olympia oyster, is depleted throughout its range. Many estuaries in central California are facing local extinction. Without a healthy oyster population, these estuaries lose vast amounts of biodiversity and cannot protect shorelines from storms and erosion. Oyster recovery is therefore central to estuary habitat restoration and resiliency. In 2018, The Elkhorn Slough Reserve partnered with Moss Landing Marine Labs to explore aquaculture as a conservation strategy for oyster recovery. Beginning with just 200 oysters collected from the slough, we developed a hatchery for them to reproduce in. Their offspring were then transplanted back out to sites around the estuary where they grow into parents of the next generation. Aquaculture is adept for producing baby oysters and maintaining fast growth rates, both important factors for restoring a natural population. However, Olympias are not common in aquaculture and the knowledge needed to grow this species was not readily available. Our aquaculture program combines ecology and physiology experiments to enhance native oyster restoration and support adaptive management in the Elkhorn Slough. This presentation will describe our journey over the last five years to re-establish oyster habitat and re-learn the oyster’s ecology.

Editor's note: This event was originally scheduled for January 31, 2024