VOGs are recycled oyster shells from local restaurants strung together on a rope or wire and suspended from a dock or seawall to create surfaces for juvenile oysters (also known as spat or oyster larvae) to attach and develop.
We hear a lot about sea grasses in Tampa Bay, but there’s another player in the game, oysters! In fact, Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) play a critical role in the presence or absence of sea grasses. The opposite is true too. Oysters are known for being amazing filters, helping to clean and clear up our waters. The clearer water oysters produce allows more sunlight to penetrate the water, therefore providing more sunlight for the seagrasses that need it. Seagrasses on the other hand do a remarkable job capturing carbon, helping to lessen the effects of more acidic waters we are seeing with increases in carbon dioxide. It’s a win-win!
More on why oysters are awesome:
- Oysters provide critical habitat for juvenile fish, birds, crabs, shrimp, sponges, worms and more!
- They are an essential food source for a variety of birds, invertebrates and fish
- Not essential, but oysters are a food source for us too (if you like them, which is not me)
- Oyster shell can be repurposed into roads, cement and other substrate products
- Oyster reefs can slow down wave action, helping to prevent shoreline erosion
- One oyster can filter 3 to 12 gallons of water per day!
Tampa Bay and the Gulf can be cleaner and healthier as we support more oysters to grow.
Looking back and looking forward:
Tampa Bay has seen a dramatic decline in oysters, an often overlooked story. The importance and abundance of oysters to native people is evident through middens (mounds of used shell) along the shorelines of Tampa Bay (ever been to the mound at Philippe Park?). And believe it or not, areas such as Papys Bayou, the Little Manatee River and portion of Old Tampa Bay supported a thriving oyster industry through the mid-1900s. The area once supported 2,000 acres of oyster reefs, with the latest survey showing only 171 acres remaining, an 85% decline. As the Tampa Bay Watershed is home to millions of residents, and growing, our impacts to water quality (and therefore oysters) are likely to increase.
Why oysters populations are declining:
- Altered freshwater flows from tidal tributaries due to altered land uses upstream
- Reduction in habitat from dredge and fill construction activities and mining of oyster shells
- Loss of viable surfaces to establish oyster reefs due to build up of sediments
Who is working on this?
The Gulf Shellfish Institute (GSI) has partnered with UF/IFAS Extension Pinellas County and others to help build and install vertical oyster gardens throughout the Tampa Bay watershed.
VOGs are essentially mini oyster reefs that can have significant local benefits for our local waters and wildlife. Whether you have a dock or not, you can contribute to the growing VOG community.
How you can help our oyster populations to increase:
Don’t have a dock? You can become an Estuary Educator:
Estuary Educators commit to hanging a VOG proudly from their front porch, patio, or anywhere they like. They then educate their family, friends, and fellow community members on the importance of oysters and VOGs as a restoration tool being used in Tampa Bay and the Gulf. This is a great option if you don’t have water access to deploy your own VOG, but still want to spread awareness about oyster restoration efforts in Tampa Bay!
Have a dock? You can become an Oyster Ambassador or Shellfish Scientist:
Oyster Ambassadors commit to installing at least one VOG from their own personal dock or seawall for a minimum of 12 months. During that time, GSI scientists will check in with Oyster Ambassadors at 6- and 12-months post-installation to collect wet weights of the VOGs and water quality measurements. This information will be used to help scientists determine which water quality measurements, such as temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen, are most important for VOG success.
Shellfish Scientists commit to all of the responsibilities of our Oyster Ambassadors, but become the scientists themselves! In addition to allowing GSI scientists record VOG wet weights and water quality measurements at 6- and 12-months post-deployment, Shellfish Scientists will take photos of their VOGs quarterly and upload them to iNaturalist. Shellfish Scientists will be given an ID sheet with all the organisms that may be present on their VOGs to assist them with identifying the species present.
If you sign up to be an Oyster Ambassador or Shellfish Scientist, GSI’s Scientific Outreach Coordinator, Olivia Blondheim, will be following up with you after enrollment in the program to coordinate a time to check in with you about your VOG. All data and results from this program will be provided on the Gulf Shellfish Institute’s website: www.gulfshellfish.org.
Once you know which role you want to pursue, you’ll need to find a location to pick up and register your VOG(s). In Pinellas County, our current VOG distribution sites are at Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center in St. Petersburg and Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center in Tarpon Springs. The VOG box at Weedon is located outside and accessible any time the Preserve is open to the public (7am to approximately 15 minutes before sunset (check posted time)). The VOGs at Brooker are located inside the Exhibit Hall in their Resource Room and can be accessed during open ours from Thursday-Saturday from 9am-4pm and Sunday from 11am-4pm. Each site with a VOG box has a QR code you can scan to register your VOG(s).
Each VOG box is stocked with VOGs that have been weighed and given a unique ID number. This tells us how much your VOG weighed initially so that when oysters and other animals start to settle and grow on your VOG, we can measure that growth over time.
Recap:
- Decide your role (Estuary Educator, Oyster Ambassador, Shellfish Scientists)
- Find nearest location to pick up your VOG(s)
- Register your selected VOG(s)
- Complete requirements for your selected role!
Please consider joining this effort to help grow our oyster community and support our local estuarine wildlife and water quality locally and throughout Tampa Bay. By installing a VOG, you are part of a larger mission of restoring oyster populations and the many benefits they provide for Tampa Bay and beyond.
Learn more at: https://www.gulfshellfish.org/vog-citizen-science-program
You can also check out VOG opportunities through Tampa Bay Watch: https://tampabaywatch.org/our-programs/restoration/oyster-reefs/vertical-oyster-gardens/ (Note: These VOGs are not associated with the GSI efforts at this time)
Questions? Contact Lara Milligan at 727-453-6905 or lara317@ufl.edu
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