Love is in the air for the oysters at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County aquaculture program in Southold. To kick off this year’s spawning season, mature oysters were brought together in a shallow tank to induce a spawning event. Once they are large enough, the larvae produced by this event will be distributed to single seed oyster programs all over Long Island.
Beyond their culinary applications, an individual oyster can filter 55 gallons of water a day. They also form reefs that mitigate storm surge and provide habitat for other species. The Southold facility mainly produces spat on shell oysters, where multiple oyster larvae attach to shells provided by restaurants and other sources.
“Oysters are what we call a keystone specie,” said Josh Perry, shellfish hatchery manager. “They are necessary for the environment to thrive. They’re the kidneys of the ocean. The more animals we have out there, the more water is getting pumped clean, the better the water quality is going to be.”
“In addition to that, they have a bunch of ecosystem services. The shells that get planted provide hard structure, home and habitat for shrimp, crabs, fish, and other species. [The shells] also help with wave action and shoreline erosion mitigation.”
The oysters are coaxed into spawning over a number of weeks, with the final stretch in a tank where the temperature is slowly raised to imitate a warm spring day. Once one male releases its gametes, the other oysters respond to this thermal cue by releasing theirs. The males and females are separated as they spawn to ensure the largest number of larvae survive.
Scientists at CCE Suffolk have been producing shellfish for local waters since 1991. A 3,700 square-foot production hatchery was added to the site in 2018. More than 145 million oyster larvae are distributed from the facility every year.
In attendance at the spawning kickoff event were Suffolk County executive Ed Romaine, State Assembly member Tommy John Schiavoni, County legislator Ann Welker and Southold Town board member Greg Doroski, along with representatives for Senator Anthony Palumbo, and Legislators Catherine Stark and Chad Lennon.
Mr. Romaine praised CCE for its efforts to restore shellfish, both for environmental and economic reasons. “The type of help that they give is crucial, and as the county executive, I want to make sure that the county supports efforts like this from Cornell Cooperative Extension,” said Mr. Romaine. “Not only is it environmentally significant, it’s economically significant, and it can be a driver of the aquaculture culture industry, which is why the county has leased out a lot of Peconic Bay. And I fully expect that right after this, you will see sugar kelp, among many other products, that come out of our bay.”
Mr. Schiavoni emphasized the interconnectedness of the Peconic Estuary with East End communities. His own home is minutes from the aquaculture facility. “This is the body of water that connects us all out here on the East End. The estuary is important. We want to bring it back. We want to bring oysters back. We want to bring scallops back to the Suffolk County bays,” said Mr. Schiavoni. “This institution, this facility, is absolutely key to do the research and actually grow the oysters. I am proud to support this institution to make those things happen for our estuary.”
Chris Pickering, a member of the staff at the aquaculture center, stated that the center is also working on restoring scallop populations by developing a native scallop that is better adapted to changing conditions in our oceans. “We’re working to come up with a strain of the native scallop that is resistant to the parasite and increased temperatures. It’s working so far, and we’re getting more and more survival,” he said.
The oysters that are grown in this program are for areas that are not open to shellfishing. Mr. Perry hopes that the center’s efforts will someday lead to more areas being safe for shellfishing. “Those oysters are going to clean the water [there] and maybe eventually those bodies that were closed will be open again. That’s the hope, to bring a fishery back. [the goal is] restoration, repopulation, and then all the good benefits that come from that.“