Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino, Councilwoman Michele Johnson, Councilman Lou Imbroto, Town Clerk Rich LaMarca and Receiver of Taxes Jeff Pravato took to the waters on the Town’s north shore to continue efforts of replenishing the oyster supply in Oyster Bay Harbor. The Town received these mollusks as part of a national effort facilitated by the Pew Charitable Trusts and The Nature Conservancy, which purchases surplus product from local farmers to be transplanted into conservation management areas for environmental restoration efforts and not to be harvested. The planting of these bivalves represents only a portion of the total plantings expected to take place in the harbor through the SOAR (Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration) program this summer, culminating in a total of roughly 100,000 mature oysters.
“Oyster Bay Harbor is one of the crown jewels of our Town, and this great initiative helps to naturally clean our waters, absorb wave action for shoreline stabilization, and filter local waterways while spawning additional shellfish,” said Supervisor Saladino. “These oysters are fully grown and perfect for planting, so rather than discard them, we partner with these wonderful organizations through the SOAR program to continue our efforts in replenishing the supply in our waters.”
Councilwoman Johnson added, “Protecting our natural assets is critically important for the Town, and by restoring our shellfish populations, we ensure that we are helping to keep our waters clean. The SOAR project helps tremendously in advancing those efforts and we thank the Pew Charitable Trusts and Nature Conservancy for all of their efforts in bringing this program to fruition in the Town of Oyster Bay.”
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