Brevard Oyster Restoration

Aquatic Life & Ecosystem

Project Name

Brevard Oyster Restoration

Project Description

Oysters are a keystone species that numerous other species depend on for food and protection. But most importantly, oysters are filter feeders, which means that they consume organic material present in the waters of the lagoon, thereby cleaning the water. In fact, one average adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day. So, in 2005, The Brevard Zoo partnered with the University of Central Florida to restore oyster reefs, and since then, over 36,000 mats have been made and deployed, establishing 68 new oyster reefs, thanks to the help of over 36,000 volunteers. The Oyster Gardening Project is another community-based project that relies on the efforts of citizen scientists to collect data on oyster survivability in the Indian River Lagoon.This data will be used to determine locations for future large-scale oyster reef restoration projects.

Body of Water

None selected

Project Owner

Kvega