FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 4, 2015
CONTACT: Patrician
Price, 904-823-4506
GTM RESEARCH RESERVE OFFERS SHUCK AND TELL:
OYSTER STORIES OF NORTHEAST FLORIDA
~Residents are invited to share stories about the history of oysters in northeast
Florida~
PONTE VEDRA BEACH -
The Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve invites the
public to join reserve staff at the Lighthouse Boat Ramp on Saturday, March 7 for "Shuck and Tell," a chance to
share oyster stories of northeast Florida.
The GTM Research Reserve has dubbed 2015 the “Year of the Oyster.” The
reserve’s research team is developing a baseline condition assessment of oyster
reefs in the reserve. This data will be used to monitor long-term changes in
oyster populations as water quality and management actions fluctuate. It will also help further the understanding of the environmental
benefits that oysters provide.
"This event is part of the work being done to understand the
potential of oysters as an environmental and economic resource, along with
determining the best way to support healthy oysters for many years to
come," said Michael Shirley, director of the GTM Research
Reserve.
Research staff at
the reserve will spend this spring collecting and synthesizing
information on oysters. In
addition, the Northeast Florida Aquatic Preserves staff will continue its efforts to restore oyster reefs throughout the reserve with the help of volunteers and local
restaurants who collect and donate leftover oyster shells.
WHAT: "Shuck and Tell"
WHEN: Saturday, March 7
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
WHERE: Lighthouse Boat Ramp
Ocean Vista Ave.
St. Augustine, FL 32080
| 
