MOP Goes Scientific

It is an exciting week coming up for MOP on the scientific side. We have a poster presentation and an oral presentation on Tuesday for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Coastal Zone meeting on Tuesday. On Friday we also will have a poster presentation at the Conference On Coastal Environmental Sensing Networks CESN that will be held at UMass Boston. These conferences will provide us with the opportunity to interact with scientists and oceanographers from around the country and to build/strengthen ties with academia.

A special shout out to our Dive Captain Matt Brevard who will present a Poster discussing the growth and anatomic dissection of a sample of our oysters.

If you are at the events, please seek us out.

As to our oysters, we are taking the water temperature periodically to see when it reaches spawning temperature on the bottom. At 65 degrees it is still a bit cold, but it is rising a degree every couple days. We have put down quahog shells in mesh bags on the bottom and suspended in the water column. If the oysters reproduce we should see seed oysters on them later this summer. Matt is also coordinating a dive to take some oysters so he can examine their reproductive organs.

Note that there is some debate about whether we will see reproduction in year one as in the early phase of their lives most oysters are males, then some cross-over to females. Reproduction would be great. But, the lack of it would not be conclusive.

I also had some time to visit with the team at our oyster supplier Island Creek in Duxbury. Skip and the team walked me through all the steps of the operation from seed, to harbor, to bagging for market. This organization impresses me more and more. (Thank you Shore for giving me the shirt of your back!)

We also received some global publicity through the Siemens employee Magazine. They did a piece on the project and it reaches 200,000 people around the Globe. (Now if we can only get sponsorship from the water technologies group.)

We are refining our plans for the Fall, and donations would help. Don’t' be afraid to donate through the web-site.
Posted by Mass Oyster Project at 8:32 AM 0 comments
B&G Oyster Event Spring Check on Charles