Jersey Shore Magazine

J e r s e y s h o r e • F A L L / H O L I D A Y 2 0 2 3 10 10 ReClam the Bay Nurturing the Present to Impact our Future BEACHCOMBER I n the late 1800s, countless baymen made a living by gathering oysters and clams on Barnegat Bay, which was one of the largest providers of shellfish in the United States. Over time, the ecosystem's health severely declined due to a combination of factors, including erosion, over-har- vesting, growth and development, and toxic runoff into its waters. The shellfish that used to cover more than 10,000 acres of the bay all but disappeared by the mid-1900s. Founded in 2005 by Rick Bushnell, an environmental steward of the bay, and Gef Flimlin, an Active Marine Agent with Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension of Ocean County, ReClam the Bay has made it their mission to change that statistic by returning over thirty million oys- ters and clams to the Barnegat Bay watershed, while educating the public about the importance of shellfish. Flimlin coined the phrase "ReClam the Bay," because if you "reclam the bay, you reclaim the bay!" "Baby clams and oysters are raised in our upweller and spat tanks and will eventually protect the bay's shorelines," said Jack Duggan, certi- fied shellfish gardener and captain of ReClam the Bay's Beach Haven site, located on Pelham Avenue at the bay. All living creatures require food, water, sunlight, oxygen, and protec- tion from predators. The shellfish raised in ReClam's nurseries find all five necessities right in the large tanks, where they are cared for and nurtured by a team of volunteers. Growing Clams Baby clams, known as seeds, are introduced to upweller tanks with screen or mesh bottoms. While water from the bay flows into the tanks, the baby clams feed on the phyto- plankton and microalgae found in the water by filtering it through their systems, which also cleans the water. The outflow then sends waste out as the water returns to the bay. Unlike oysters, clam seeds do not need to set on a substrate such as a shell. The baby clams raised in the upwellers begin their journey in late June/early July the size of a plump sesame seed and spend the summer growing to be about the size of an M&M. Then later in the fall, they are placed in the bay at lease sites under predator screens to protect them from cow-nosed rays, crabs, sea stars, and other predators. The screens are periodically cleaned, and when the Bill Walsh, president of ReClam the Bay, with Jack Duggan, certified shellfish gardener and captain of ReClam the Bay's Beach Haven site. Bill is holding one year-old clams, and Jack is holding three month-old oysters. Jill Ocone Upweller tanks. " L e t u s t ak e a j o u r n e y do w n t h e S h ore t o s ee w h a t w e c a n f i n d… " Jill Ocone

• Cover