Oyster restoration goes orbital: concrete orbs offer a biosphere
Associated Press - June 30, 2007 2:15 PM ET
OYSTER, Va. (AP) - Some Chesapeake Bay oysters will have concrete condos.
Students from the Tandem Friends School in Charlottesville showed on the Eastern
Shore last week, bearing 200 concrete balls. The orbs were set in salty, shallow
water in Magothy Bay near Skidmore Island and in shallows at Smith Island.
The experiment brought the school together with a diverse group: The Nature
Conservancy, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration and Allied Concrete Company.
Allied's president, Gus Lorder, approached the conservancy a year ago after reading
that concrete might be a suitable habitat for struggling oysters.
His Charlottesville company donated materials and concrete, which students shaped
into reef balls.
The experiment is the latest twist in using alternative materials to attract and grow
native oysters that have been killed off by disease, lost habitat and overfishing.
If the concrete orbs are successful, Allied wants to expand the experiment next year.....
