Habitat
Restoration

Broward County Oyster Restoration Study – The CCA Broward Chapter under the direction of Mike Lambrechts, and CCA Florida are pioneering a science-backed approach for its pilot Oyster Restoration Program. This study is designed to provide important insight about the condition of waterways in the Fort Lauderdale area of Broward County for possible future oyster restoration.  This study is not designed to, nor will, fix the current water quality issues, but will gather important data including salinity, temperature and oyster species to identify areas that may sustain healthy oyster growth. Dr. Ian Zink with the University of Miami is assisting with the research component of the project as well as oyster species identification.  The information collected will be a vital resource going forward, as no such data currently exists. The vision is to ultimately locate suitable areas to seed oyster growth and kick- start reproduction again, ultimately, adding natural filtration to help restore water quality.

In the spring of 2020, volunteers placed 100 Oyster Catcher™ patties and rope on almost 100 docks in the Ft. Lauderdale area. Mike was instrumental in getting the owners of these privately owned docks to not only let CCA hang the patty, but also take photos of their patties once a month and email to CCA.  The 100 Oyster Catcher™ patties were donated by Dr. Neils Lindquist with the Sandbar Oyster Company in North Carolina.  The patties were strategically placed to span the intertidal zone that a local oyster would naturally experience. Water temperature, salinity measurements along with tidal stage and tidal flow observations are recorded monthly.  This study is ongoing and will continue until at least the end of 2020.