Update on "Aquaculture by Design" project

1. Aquaculture By Design, Chesapeake Bay
Oyster Aquaculture: Communicating The Science of
Ecosystem Services
Is the growing oyster aquaculture industry accelerating the restoration of Chesapeake Bay?
Andy Lacatell, Conservation Specialist, Virginia
Photo credit: Dave Jasinski
Photo credit: Andy Lacatell

2. TNC Goals for the Chesapeake Bay
Ensure the watershed produces clean water
and abundant fisheries that help to meet the
needs of people and nature that depend on
the nation’s largest estuary
Overarching Strategies
Accelerate large-scale improvements to
water quality
Coordinate investments in restoration and
protection of key habitats that provide
lower-cost, effective and sustained water
quality improvements

3. What We Know
One oyster filters up to 50 gallons of water per day, removing nitrogen, phosphorus and
sediment from the water. Excess nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment have significant impacts
on the health of the Chesapeake Bay.
Eastern Oyster
(Crassostrea virginica)

4. 4
We Also Know…
…that the Chesapeake Bay oyster population is at 1% of historic levels. The Bay’s natural
ability to remove pollutants has been severely diminished.
Photo credit: Andy Lacatell

5. 0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
B
U
S
H
E
L
S
Years
PUBLIC VS PRIVATE OYSTER HARVEST
PrivateBu
PublicBu
What We’re Seeing
A growing industry of entrepreneurs producing food and providing jobs in a way that cleans
our rivers and the Bay.
Photo credit: Danielle McCullough
Source: Jim Wesson, VMRC
TNC Aquaculture Video (AVI) TNC Aquaculture Video (MP4)

6. What are the Goals of the Project?
The goals of the project are to scientifically measure the water quality benefits of oyster
aquaculture and to share our findings, here and around the world.
Partnering with:
- Virginia Institute of Marine Science
- Four commercial oyster aquaculture
operations
We will be able to determine:
- The benefits of aquaculture
- Assess potential impacts
What is the net benefit of oyster aquaculture
on water quality?
Chlorophyll-a - Turbidity - Total suspended solids - Total fixed solids - Dissolved nitrogen – DO – pH – Temp - Salinity
Photo credit: Andy Lacatell

7. “We see a big opportunity to work with The
Nature Conservancy…to do scientific research
along side of our business. We have so many
questions that we need answers to.”
Photo credit: Andy Lacatell

8. How Are We Measuring Benefits and Impacts?
How
Mini-ROV
Sediment Cores
Flow
Macrofaunal Community
- Fish and crabs (highly mobile)
- Worms (less mobile)
Analysis
Compare floating bags vs bottom cages
Compare different geographies
Expected Output
3-D map of ecosystem services
Narrative report
Video and social media products
www.aquabotix.com
Bristle worm (Hans Hillewart/
Wikipedia Commons)

9. Our first video project is complete.
Social media content and several additional
videos will be produced over the course of
the project.
Web and print products are in development.
How Are We Sharing the Results?
Photo credit: Andy LacatellPhoto credit: Dave Jasinski
Photo credit: Andy Lacatell

10. The Larger Vision
We hope to measure additional ecosystem services
provided by oyster aquaculture around the world
We hope to use research to provide support for the
growing industry globally
We hope to communicate these benefits to the public and
policymakers as large-scale marine restoration strategies
are developed
Oyster aquaculture promises to play a significant role in
restoring our rivers and bays
Photo credit: Andy Lacatell