Our Oyster Base Camp Program

OVERVIEW

The Wild Oyster Project maintains an oyster gardening program called Oyster Base Camps.

These structures are aquaculture baskets filled with our recycled oyster shells that hang from docks within the water column, We use oyster shells because research indicates that baby oysters prefer to settle and grow on other oyster shells, which is how oyster reefs/beds are formed over time. In addition to enhancing water quality, these camps provide crucial data on the locations where oysters are thriving.

This program also allows us to educate the community about oysters and how to accurately monitor oyster growth. We hope to have our ocean stewards, or volunteers, directly involved in the Oyster Base Camp’s journey, including design, fabrication, and data collection. That way we can all get our feet wet! Just like the Olympia oyster itself, the Oyster Base Camp program is small but impactful.

PROGRAM START DATE

September 2021

HOW IT WORKS

By using recycled oyster shells, an Oyster Base Camp increases the likelihood of oyster larvae in the water successfully settling, surviving to adulthood and contributing to the growth of the wild oyster population in San Francisco Bay. The OBC helps to shield oyster spat from sedimentation, heat stress and specific predators. It is not attached to the bottom and does not disturb the existing benthic environment. Additionally, it provides habitat for other species.

OUR IMPACT

The Oyster Base Camp program is a community science initiative that engages a bay-wide audience in oyster data collection.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

We use volunteers to help host Oyster Base Camps and to collect data with Wild Oyster staff. You can volunteer or offer a private dock where we can deploy the Base Camp. We are currently scaling up this program so stay tuned!.