[SEMCO] Lecture on Oyster Restoration at Wellfleet Bay

[Melissa Lowe]

RESTORING THE WELLFLEET OYSTER 
free lecture by Bill Walton, Aquaculture Specialist

Wednesday, March 19, 7 p.m.
at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary

Proposed Project seeks to Enhance Wild Oyster Populations in Wellfleet. 

Lecture introduces the concept of oyster restoration (why and how), provides basics of oyster biology and ecology, and an overview of other shellfish restoration efforts around Barnstable County.

Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, the Town of Wellfleet, The Nature Conservancy, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are investigating the possibility of establishing an "oyster reef" and restoration project on the tidal flats off the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. The goals of the proposed project are to restore a habitat that is now missing in the Wellfleet Harbor ecosystem while understanding how natural mortality, disease, and harvest influence these reefs. Project investigators will also study the ecological benefits that the oyster reef will provide to the area.

Presenter Bill Walton is the Aquaculture Specialist for Woods Hole Sea Grant and Barnstable County Cooperative Extension. 

The presentation is FREE and open to the public, but registration is encouraged. Call 508-349-2615 to register. You may also register by emailing mlowe at massaudubon.org

###
The Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the west side of Route 6, immediately north of the Eastham/Wellfleet town line. Call (508) 349-2615 for information.

***********************************************************
Melissa Lowe, Education Coordinator
Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
PO Box 236, South Wellfleet, MA 02663
mlowe at massaudubon.org
508-349-2615, ext 107

Protecting the Nature of Massachusetts
www.massaudubon.org/wellfleetbay