The Nantucket Conservation Foundation and the Town of Nantucket Natural Resource Department had a challenge to find a way to reduce wave and tide impacts at the Medouie Creek salt marsh in Polpis Harbor while hoping to improve the ecological health of the marsh and the harbor.
Their solution – Oyster Castles! Oyster what?! The Oyster Castle reef concept is fairly new to Massachusetts. The lego-like castle blocks are made by Allied Concrete with a proprietary concrete mix that will not only form a barrier to slow down the water velocity but will also attract baby Oysters or Oyster spat. Oyster spat need a solid structure to attach to and once attached they grow and mature and produce more babies, building up an oyster reef. But without that harder structure to attach too, oysters won’t move into an area.
Dr. Jen Karberg, the Research Program Supervisor with the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, has been using Lowell Instrument’s TCM-4 shallow water tilt current meters to monitor the existing conditions and will provide continuous long-term data to see how the reef changes water direction and speed around the salt marsh. The TCM-4 which is designed to operate in less than 1 foot of water is ideal for measuring water velocity in shallow coastal ponds, bays, rivers and tidal flats.
For the complete story and more photos be sure to check out Jen’s blog or the “In the Field with Neil” video/interview with Jen and her team in the water.