Restoring shellfish reefs: Global guidelines for practitioners and scientists

Abstract

Widespread global declines in shellfish reefs (ecosystem-forming bivalves such as oysters and mussels) have led to growing interest in their restoration and protection. With restoration projects now occurring on four continents and in at least seven countries, global restoration guidelines for these ecosystems have been developed based on experience over the past two decades. The following key elements of the guidelines are outlined: (a) the case for shellfish reef restoration and securing financial resources; (b) planning, feasibility, and goal setting; (c) biosecurity and permitting; (d) restoration in practice; (e) scaling up from pilot to larger scale restoration, (f) monitoring, (g) restoration beyond oyster reefs (specifically mussels), and (h) successful communication for shellfish reef restoration projects.

NORA moving forward: Developing an oyster restoration network in Europe to support the Berlin Oyster Recommendation

“…• Common components within monitoring protocols are essential for determining European-level restoration success, as they ensure a minimum standard of monitoring that allows comparison between projects (Fitzsimons et al, 2019(Fitzsimons et al, , 2020.…”

“…These guidelines will build upon the work of Baggett et al (2014) and provide recommendations of both metrics and methods to be used in nearshore as well as offshore restoration projects, and include subtidal, intertidal, and cage‐based monitoring. Common components within monitoring protocols are essential for determining European‐level restoration success, as they ensure a minimum standard of monitoring that allows comparison between projects (Fitzsimons et al, 2019, 2020). It is recommended that all NORA community projects therefore adopt the methods and metrics proposed in the guidelines handbook. The European monitoring guidelines will propose universal oyster project and environmental metrics, designed to provide a minimum baseline of metrics that should be monitored in all projects. European‐relevant ancillary monitoring considerations will also be recommended where funding and expertise allows for the implementation of these metrics and methods. The European handbook will also provide restoration goal‐based metrics designed to enable an assessment of the ecosystem functions and services provided by oyster restoration projects. …”

A Global Overview of Restorative Shellfish Mariculture

“…In some cases "restorative aquaculture" is designed primarily to actively deliver ecosystem services, in order to achieve positive impacts on the broad socioecological systems, to enhance habitat quality via restoration programs, and simultaneously improve food security and employment opportunities (Theuerkauf et al, 2019). In this case, and in numerous other cases where population and/or species restoration is achieved through "restorative aquaculture, " improved fisheries may be the long-term goal of the restoration activity, but initial stages may be focused on restoring the ecology of the species, biodiversity and other non-harvest related ecosystem services (Fitzsimons et al, 2020). Although the focus of non-commercial strategies is not immediately associated with improving fisheries productivity, the enhanced stocks may often be exploitable by the public as common property resources.…”

Facilitating Better Outcomes: How Positive Species Interactions Can Improve Oyster Reef Restoration

“…Historically, restoration has focused on oyster population enhancement as a means to restore oyster reefs (Brumbaugh and Coen, 2009;Schulte et al, 2009), likely because oyster reefs were traditionally managed as a fishery rather than as an ecosystem (Coen and Luckenbach, 2000;Luckenbach et al, 2005). The field of oyster restoration primarily developed in the United States over the past 20 years (Luckenbach et al, 1999;Schrack et al, 2012) but has recently grown to encompass non-North American oyster species [e.g., Saccostrea glomerata, Ostrea edulis, Ostrea angasi, Magallana (Crassostrea) sikamea, Magallana (Crassostrea) hongkongensis], mussel species (e.g., Mytilus galloprovincialis and Perna canaliculus), and new geographic regions such as Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and Asia (Fitzsimons et al, 2019(Fitzsimons et al, , 2020.…”