Inside an organization's effort to attract more oysters in Bay Area waters
Preserving Tampa's oyster population
FOX 13 Photojournalist Travis Anthony highlights Tampa Bay Watch, which creates artificial reefs throughout Tampa's waters to attract more oysters.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Tampa Bay Watch actively works to do what its name says.
"We all love this area, we all love the recreational side of it (and) the environmental side of it, and we're trying to preserve that as much as possible," shared Myles Schanck.
Artificial reef created by Tampa Bay Watch.
He is the Oyster Reek Program Specialist, and as such, he is in charge of creating artificial reefs throughout the Tampa Bay estuary.
What they're saying:
"The oyster population has dipped," Schanck admitted. "With these projects, we're seeing a huge benefit in accruing these oysters in the local area. Oysters spawn with other oysters."
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The teams at Tampa Bay Watch create reef balls from concrete and oyster shells to create an environment that attracts mollusks.
Volunteer for Tampa Bay Watch.
"We have a wonderful project called 'Shells with Shorelines.' We actually work with restaurants in the local area to recycle their oyster shells," said Schanck. "These reef balls are actually mixed with a blend of environmentally friendly materials that lower the PH balance to attract oysters."
Dig deeper:
From there, it's just a labor of love getting more buildings to attract the bivalves into the bay.
Volunteers for Tampa Bay Watch creating reefs.
"We have roughly 17,000 reef balls in our area," Schanck said. "About 200 oysters per reef ball. It has a very large impact."
What you can do:
Tampa Bay Watch has a display and discovery center at the St. Pete Pier, where visitors can learn about its regular activities.
View the display and discovery here.
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Visit Tampa Bay Watch's website here to donate to its cause and learn how to get involved with Tampa Bay Watch or to donate to its cause.
The Source: FOX 13 Photojournalist Travis Anthony collected the information in this story.
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