GREENPORT STEWARDSHIP SITE
Greenport
Stewardship Site Fund
Background + Goals
Cornell Marine Program has been working to enhance habitat and shellfish population in the waters off of Greenport Village for decades, but we are now seeking to officially establish a Back to the Bays Stewardship Site and create a long-term receiving area for eelgrass and shellfish plantings. With proceeds from our Greenport Stewardship Site Fundraising Campaign (now underway!) paired with revenue from our 12th Annual Greenport Shellabration fundraising event, we will be able to direct the resources necessary towards working with local regulatory agencies to obtain permissions and permits required to establish a spat-on-shell oyster reef in the waters off of Greenport in 2024. If our fundraising goal is met, we will also be able to expand upon underwater habitat restoration efforts by continuing eelgrass plantings off of Stirling Harbor. We invite you to help us reach our fundraising goals to support this work by making a donation of any amount to our Greenport Stewardship Site Fund!
Key Partners + Funders
Greenport Shellabration
With partnership from Greenport businesses and community, we hold our largest annual fundraising event of the year. Shellabration is an annual culinary celebration that showcases local shellfish and benefits Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program’s Back to the Bays Initiative and SPAT Program. Participation by over 1,500 ‘shellabrants’ each year, and nearly 30 local restaurants, merchants, and craft beverage distributors, helps fund CCE Marine’s habitat and shellfish restoration efforts in this region.
Current Work Underway
Shell Recycling Program:
Coastal restaurants typically go through thousands of pounds of oyster shell in one season, all of which often gets sent to a landfill. However, oyster shells hold incredible ecological value! When wild oysters spawn, the larvae seek the shells of other oysters onto which they will set and grow into elaborate reef structures, offering crucial habitat for a menagerie of other marine species. Working with local restaurants, we are developing a robust Shell Recycling Program that we operate on the East End of Long Island at select restaurants. Our key shell recycling partners for this location are Little Creek Oysters, Anker and Silver Sands! If you would like to volunteer with our shell collection team please contact Kate Rossi-Snook at kr474@cornell.edu
Oyster Reef Restoration:
The process of setting oyster larvae on clean, empty oyster shells is called “remote setting.” It is performed in a tank with controlled conditions, and only takes a couple of days for the oyster larvae to find their permanent home. When oysters are set in this manner, it is referred to as “spat-on-shell” (SOS), and oftentimes many oysters will set on a single shell, creating a complex reef structure as they grow larger. These reef oysters are not meant to be harvested, but rather to help enhance the wild oyster population. Working in tandem with our Back to the Bays Shell Recycling Program, we will be establishing an SOS Reef Restoration Site in our Back to the Bays Stewardship Sites across the East End of Long Island.
Involvement + Giving Opportunities
We are excited to engage with the Greenport community, and will offer many ways for individuals and groups to get involved once this project is underway! Stewardship Sessions will be offered and will feature the following activities:
Shell Cleaning and Bagging: to prepare for SOS setting, clean shells will be poured into mesh bags and tied securely. They will then be stacked in the remote setting tank and allowed to condition in the water prior to adding the larvae.
Oyster Reef Deployment: bags of SOS will be transported to the Reef Restoration Site. A group of volunteers will be needed to paddle out to our Sanctuary Site and gently place the SOS in the water in a reef formation.
Marine Meadows Workshops: Want to help us restore underwater eelgrass meadows? No SCUBA diving necessary, we leave that to our team, but we do have land based opportunities to help us make burlap planting units and assemble planting discs during our fall restoration planting season.
In order to expand upon these efforts in 2023 and beyond we have launched the Greenport Back to the Bays Giving Campaign and are seeking contributions on any level to help support this work. To scale up the oyster reef efforts, and expand the Back to the Bays Stewardship Site activities to include additional shellfish restoration plantings and eelgrass restoration we need your help! Contributions of fully tax deductible and can be made here.