Collaborative Restoration of a Network of Oyster Broodstock Spawning Reserves Across the Mission-Aransas Estuary, Texas

Oyster habitats support a booming economy in coastal Texas and are key in the socioeconomic welfare of the coast. Unfortunately, oyster reefs are also one of the most threatened marine habitats on earth, with losses resulting from water quality degradation, coastal development, destructive fishing practices, overfishing, and storm impacts. Restoring oyster habitat by placing cultch (substrate on which oyster larvae settle and grow) can improve the resilience of the oyster habitat and the fisheries dependent on oyster habitat.

Providing protection from harvest for spawning oysters—effectively a broodstock reserve—increases the resilience and sustainability of oyster populations and the oyster fishery by providing a long-term source of larvae that can re-populate reefs. When multiple broodstock reserves are created, as proposed here, the expanded network of source populations can help seed each reserve as well as a larger area of surrounding harvested reefs, to help accelerate recovery after mortality events and provide resilience to harvested reefs that have been structurally degraded through dredging.

We propose to restore a network of up to 50 acres of oyster broodstock reserve reefs throughout the Mission-Aransas Estuary, TX. Recycled shells will be used to build two broodstock sanctuary reefs within waters that are closed to oyster harvest. In addition, oyster fishers and anglers will be engaged throughout the project to provide input on site selection, monitoring and construction to ensure community buy-in for the project.