The water temperature on the bottom of the Charles is reaching 70 degrees and our volunteer dive team is heading down to check on our oysters this Sunday. They will be sampling the oysters to see if their internal organs are ready to reproduce or have already given off sperm or eggs.
To gain further information on their reproduction we have also placed bags of Quahog shells to see if any spat settle on them. (Spat are the infant oysters that swim around for the first two weeks and then attach to hard surfaces.) Note that some experts don't believe reproduction is likely until year two.
We need volunteers. We are increasingly being asked to attend other environmental events. If you are interested in getting out, meeting people, manning a table, and selling a few t-shirts. Let us know. For example, there is a Dorchester Beach Festival this Saturday August 8. There also is an event at Winthrop's Belle Isle Marsh on October 4. Here is a chance to get involved. Take it.
We are going to be on TV. Pam Brodie and I have been asked to be on Charlestown Cable TV on August 7 at 6:30.
The Oyster Project is dedicated to oyster restoration in the estuaries of Massachusetts. Oyster reefs provide shelter for 100 other species including shrimp, eels, lobsters and the young of many commercial species. Oysters also are tremendous water cleaners as each filters 30 gallons of water per day.
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