From the Rockport Pilot

Oyster bed restoration target of pilot project

As part of a pilot project to restore ecologically important oyster beds which are in decline in the Gulf of Mexico, The Nature Conservancy deposited 200 cubic yards of oyster shell into the shallow waters of Copano Bay on Monday, April 28. This is part of an effort to create new shelter for oysters and other marine animals, including juvenile sport fish, which depend on shell reefs. The mound of shells was carried into the bay on a 30-foot barge and blown into shallow water with a fire hose within a one-acre patch where an oyster bed previously existed.
“Oysters have been in serious decline since the 80s in Texas, in part due to pressure from commercial fishing but also because of shell dredging for use as roadbed material and in making concrete,” said Rafael Calderon, director of The Nature Conservancy's Gulf of Mexico Program.
Oyster beds provide important habitat for many other species, from invertebrates to juvenile fish, including many sport fish vital to the state's recreation revenues, Calderon said. They are filter-feeders, filtering up to six gallons of saltwater an hour each. They consume plankton (tiny microscopic plants and animals found in the water) and play an important role in maintaining good water quality in bays and estuaries.
Local fishing guide James Fox, a native of Rockport, was on hand in Copano Bay to watch the oyster shells being deposited in the water.