Oysters are vital to the ecological integrity of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, which is why Baykeeper has been working to restore oyster beds in the HRE since 1999.

Our volunteer-driven oyster gardening program, remote setting aquaculture of oyster spat-onshell, and several current reef restoration projects has resulted in the restoration of hundreds-of-thousands of oysters to the Estuary ecosystem – allowing this keystone species to begin playing its natural role in cleansing our waterways.

Baykeeper currently has two operating reef projects in New Jersey; one is located in the Navesink River in Red Bank, and the second is located in Raritan Bay in Keyport. We also employ volunteer oyster gardeners throughout Monmouth, Middlesex, and Hudson Counties in New Jersey as well as Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Jamaica Bay in New York.

 Additional Oyster Program Pages

About the Oyster 
Baykeeper Restoraton Projects
Keyport Reef
Navesink Reef

Bay Ridge Flats Reef
Oyster Restoration Program News and Events
Get Involved the Oyster Restoration Program
Oyster Gardener Resources
Oyster Restoration Blog
Oyster Restoration Project Photo Albums 

More Oyster Program Info

For more information about the Oyster Restoration Program and about other Baykeeper Volunteer and Restoration efforts we offer PDF versions of the documents listed. Just click on the document you want to see to download it.

15th Year Anniversary, Special Volunteer Edition of The Estuarian. An entire edition dedicated to the Oyster Restoration program and other Baykeeper Volunteer programs.

The Baykeeper Oyster Restoration Program Annual Report for 2005.

Baykeeper Oyster Program Planning Document.

Oyster Restoration in the Hudson/Raritan Estuary: What are the challenges? What are the solutions?: A 16 page Conference Summary.

The Oyster Program brochure.