Moriches Bay Oyster Seeding Project Enters 11th Year

The Moriches Bay Oyster Seeding project has been caring for the Moriches Bay and surrounding waterways ecology for the past 11 years. Every year they suspend oysters in plastic, porous cages off the bottom of the bay so they grow big enough to not get eaten by predators. After they are big enough they are released into the ocean where they cleanse the water from harmful bacteria and chemicals.

Westhampton residents Laura Fabrizio and Aram Terchunian founded The Moriches Bay Project in 2012 with the goal of improving the water quality of Moriches Bay through oyster farming and education of the public. Since its founding more than two million oysters have been deposited into the bay, and public schools across the island have received presentations from the group.

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine said of the project “We’re looking to grow the aquaculture industry by any means possible to bolster the economy and help keep our waterways clean. Shellfish and kelp have an incredible ability to filter nitrogen and other contaminants from the water and are a perfect natural solution to brown tides and other problems caused by algae blooms fed by too many man-made nutrients entering the system.” According to the Moriches Bay project's website, they are expanding shellfish production through a process called the Floating Upwelling System which will be able to grow up to 500,000 shellfish per season to keep up with the bay’s cleansing. “The F.L.U.P.S.Y. or Floating Upwelling System is the project's newest addition to the shellfish program. The FLUPSY is a shellfish growing machine. Typically built like a rectangular floating dock, the FLUPSY is able to grow up to 500,000 shellfish in a season by holding large amounts of shellfish in containment barrels suspended off the bay bottom.”

File Photo

The Project is focusing not just on dumping shellfish into the water, but to create a self generating habitat that produces the shellfish naturally independent of Human intervention “The reef, created with aged shells and live oysters, measures 530 square feet and is being monitored over a five-year period for oyster growth and survival, as well as the presence of other animals and plants living on the reef compared to the nearby sandy bottom. We are thrilled to announce that in late 2021, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County was monitoring the Moriches Bay Project Oyster Bar (reef) in Brookhaven Town and found a juvenile oyster that was probably spawned last year and two species of seaweed plus an adorable squirrel fish from the South. This is such exciting news and progress showing that the reef is creating a habitat for many species.”

The Moriches Bay Project has further plans to continue its operation for many years to come. If you would like to help the Project move forward you can visit their website www.morichesbayproject.org or contact them directly by email at bayboxny@gmail.com. Their website is full of events and merchandise where you can financially support their efforts and look cool doing it!