Artificial Oyster Reef Installed Off Naval Weapons Station Earle

Middletown, NJ - On Wednesday, NY/NJ Baykeeper will be installing something unique into the waters just off Leonardo/Belford: An artificial oyster castle reef.

The first-of-its-kind urban shoreline is very similar to an artificial reef: It will consists of .91 acres of carefully placed concrete structures known as "oyster castles" meant for oysters to grow on. The Baykeeper will place the concrete blocks Wednesday off the pier at the Naval Weapons Station Earle, which stretches into Sandy Hook Bay. The Baykeeper will also place oysters at the artificial reef, which need a hard surface to attach to and grow on.

Oysters are powerful water filterers, and are capable of making an entire body of water cleaner for other fish, plants and even humans to enjoy. The installation will be an experiment for the Baykeeper to see if the oysters can clean the water along the Raritan Bayshore. Some say oyster reefs can even protect the shoreline from flooding and damage, such as what occurred in Super Storm Sandy.

"The project will determine if a living shoreline can stabilize the mouth of Ware Creek, protect the surrounding environment, improve water quality, and create an aquatic habitat in the urban NY-NJ Harbor Estuary," said Debbie Mans, executive director of NY/NJ Baykeeper.

NY/NJ Baykeeper has previously managed two oyster reef projects in New Jersey, one in the fecal-bacteria contaminated Navesink River near Red Bank and the second in the Keyport Harbor. Unfortunately, both projects were shut down by the state Dept. of Environmental Protection in 2010. All the oysters in those reef projects had to be dug up and destroyed.

“Our partnership with NY/NJ Baykeeper is an example of the Naval Station’s efforts to combat the effects of climate change to our nation's security and military infrastructure,” said Capt. Jay Steingold, Naval Weapons Station Earle commanding officer.