The Community Advisory Board (CAB) meeting on November 30th at the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR). The meeting began with reports from the CAB working groups and subcommittees followed by a science update from ABSI Faculty researchers, Dr. Andrew Shantz, Dr. Josh Breithaupt, and Dr. Tara Stewart Merrill.
Dr. Shantz presented his analysis of ABSI tonging surveys for oyster abundance across the Bay. The data indicate that small limerock has a higher spat settlement than other materials but few spat make it through to adults. Larger oysters were observed on the shell and large limerock. Then, Dr. Stewart Merrill presented information on parasitism and highlighted dermo disease being found in oysters in Apalachicola Bay (see science update below for more). Next, Dr. Breithaupt discussed his research about using sediment organic matter for assessing the abundance and function of oysters on intertidal and subtidal reefs and their relationship to the overall health of Apalachicola Bay.
Finally, Dr. Ed Camp, (University of Florida Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences), reviewed his model simulation results including updated harvest months, uncertainty in closures, uncertainty in shell dynamics, and annual restoration. Ed is an interdisciplinary scientist who focuses on the ecology and human dimension aspects of managing fisheries & aquaculture.
Oyster Recovery and Restoration
ABSI held two workshops in mid-October to present the most recent information on oyster recovery in the Bay and to gather input from oystermen and the public. FWC staff and ABSI researchers teamed up to share the latest details on oyster sampling and research. While some oyster recovery has been observed, the vast majority of the potential reef habitat areas remain degraded with few live oysters. Restoration experiments to test the best substrate for growth and areas for recovery are ongoing with a new study being planned for 2023. Results from these studies are intended to inform future large-scale restoration of some reefs in the Bay. Presentations from these workshops can be found HERE.
To ensure complete transparency, the entire history of the deliberations from each of the 24 meetings (20 CAB meetings and 4 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.
