Another 1M oysters going into bay

Town board approves second batch later this year after successful pilot

BY BRANDON DUFFY

After a successful pilot program in 2022, another batch of 1 million oysters will call Manhasset Bay home later this year.

The North Hempstead Town Board approved a resolution for the second restoration project during the June 6 meeting, continuing a program that was a big success last year, Council Member Mariann Dalimonte said.

“After year one, the oysters are growing and that’s the most important thing,” Dalimonte said in an interview with Blank Slate Media. “If we did not see them growing or didn’t see them thriving, we would not have put in another million.”

After placing the frst batch in three locations, which are kept secret to avoid tampering, the second batch will all be placed in only one of the three. Dalimonte said all locations are growing but one in particular is thriving more than the other two.

In particular, these oysters will be spat. These are oyster larvae that have attached themselves to a surface, such as other oyster shells, which grow into dense clusters known as oyster reefs or beds.

Besides supplying food, oysters provide substantial benefts through purifying water by flter feeding. A single adult oyster may flter up to 50 gallons of water every day.

Collaborating with the town to administer the project is the Sufolk County Cornell Cooperative Extension, which worked with the town on the frst batch last year. The group has exten- sive experience in similar projects across Long Island. As the bay has faced challenges, so has its oyster population. While the precise cause is unknown, Lorne Brousseau, associate marine program director for the Cornell Cooperative,