Pathway to Recovery
Dr. Mike Wilberg, professor at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), with oysters from Chesapeake Bay. Read more about his involvement in OysterFutures, an organization to develop recommendations for oyster policies and management that meet the needs of industry, citizen, and government stakeholders in the Choptank and Little Choptank Rivers, in "News from Community Advisory Board." PC: UMCES
The Apalachicola Bay System Initiative
Newsletter - July 2022
The ABSI mission: to gain insight into the root causes of decline of the Apalachicola Bay ecosystem with a focus on oyster reefs, and ultimately, with guidance from the Community Advisory Board and input from stakeholders and the public, to develop science-informed restoration and ecosystem-based management plans focused on the recovery of oyster reefs and the health of Apalachicola Bay.
News from the Community Advisory Board
The Community Advisory Board (CAB) met on May 25th, 2022 at the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve facility. The meeting began with reports from the CAB working groups and subcommittees followed by a science update from ABSI Principal Investigator, Dr. Sandra Brooke.

Next, guest speaker Jason Herrmann from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) gave a presentation on oyster management and reef restoration strategies. He touched on the components that lend to the successful restoration and management of oyster reefs, in Alabama, including identifying data gaps and prioritizing restoration strategies, which mirrors much of what the CAB developed in the ABSI Draft Framework Plan, approved November 2021.

Then, Dr. Mike Wilberg, professor at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, gave a presentation on OysterFutures. OystersFutures is a collaborative process, very similar to ABSI, to develop oyster management recommendations in Maryland. Dr. Wilberg explained the importance on following a stakeholder-centric process and reported on the success OysterFutures has had in incorporating both stakeholders and scientists in the development of sustainable oyster restoration and management plans.

To ensure complete transparency, the entire history of the deliberations from each of the 19 meetings (16 CAB meetings and 3 Oystermen's Workshops) since March 2020, including copies of all presentations and meeting recordings, are available on the ABSI Community Advisory Board website.

Note: Due to COVID-19, meetings of the CAB took place virtually using ZOOM from May 2020 to January 2022. The CAB resumed in-person meetings in March 2022.
Next CAB Meeting: July 27th, 8:30am-3:00pm -- ANERR Multi-Purpose Room
This meeting will be held in-person at the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR) facility if public health conditions allow (or held via Zoom if needed).
Members of the public are encouraged to attend and listen in. A public Zoom option will be available. There is room for for public comment at the end of each meeting.
Meeting Agenda can be found here: https://marinelab.fsu.edu/absi/cab/

Upcoming Events:

ANERR's Virtual SciCafé Series featuring ABSI's Dr. Brooke -- July 28th at 6:00 pm
ABSI Staff Update
The ABSI oyster hatchery team is excited to welcome our hatchery interns for the summer. Four of our interns are from the OysterCorps which is a specialized branch of the Franklin’s Promise Coalition and the Conservation Corps of the Forgotten and Emerald Coasts. Elijah Mathes, Landen Millender, Hayden Mock, and Austin Taunton, are all young adults local to the Franklin County area. Through their internship this summer, they will be an integral part of the oyster hatchery’s production season. 
Elijah Mathes
Landen Millender
Hayden Mock
Austin Taunton
Throughout this summer, these interns will be trained in all aspects involved with oyster production and aquaculture. This process begins with the collection, selection, and care of broodstock oysters from Apalachicola Bay, where they will learn the importance of husbandry to culturing animals. Additionally, they will be a part of the spawning process of adult oysters to produce larval oysters. Here they will learn to sex animals, isolate gametes, and fertilize eggs. Finally, senior staff will train the interns to care for larval oysters and facilitate the setting process, which produces spat. The interns will be trained to perform drain downs, grade size classes, and determine if larval oysters are viable to settle. The spat they help produce will be used for restoration experiments run by ABSI. 
In addition, the interns will participate in a seminar series focused on introducing the interns to the diversity of careers in aquaculture. The ABSI hatchery team will host professionals from biologists and researchers to managers and industry farmers who will speak about their career paths in aquaculture, and the interns will have the opportunity to directly interact with these professionals about their work and careers. 
So far, the interns’ favorite part of the job is assisting with the spawning and fertilization for larval oysters, however, they are excited to continue learning about oyster production in a hatchery. By the end of the summer, we hope the interns will have all the skills necessary to continue in an aquaculture career.
We are always interested in hearing from you so if you have questions or comments, please send them to our email address, fsucml-absi@fsu.edu.