Aquaculture 2022

February 28 - March 4, 2022

San Diego, California

THE NATIVE OLYMPIA OYSTER COLLABORATIVE: A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE FOR Ostrea lurida CONSERVATION

 

Kerstin Wasson*, April Ridlon, Edwin D. Grosholz, Kay McGraw, Betsy Peabody, Jennifer Ruesink, Chela Zabin, and Danielle C. Zacherl

 

Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve

 1700 Elkhorn Road, Royal Oaks, CA 95076, USA, kerstin.wasson@gmail.com

 



 The Native Olympia Oyster Collaborative (NOOC) is a network of oyster scientists, practitioners, educators and aquaculturists who learn from each other and share scientific, management and educational resources.

 Our vision is: Resilient native oyster populations in a network of bays and estuaries from British Columbia to Baja California, valued by people and forming an integral part of healthy coastal ecosystems

 Over the past years, NOOC has brought together oyster stakeholders and together, we are strengthening and connecting many local efforts to conserve and restore Olympia oysters.  We created a Zotero database with Olympia oyster and related references.

 We compiled information on all past restoration projects of this species, and made this available in a recent publication.  We mapped the distribution of oysters from Baja California to British Columbia.  These collaborative efforts, building on local knowledge and expertise, complement place-based conservation for Olympia oysters and allow for range-wide strategic planning.

 NOOC accomplishments were made possible due to contributions from many oyster stakeholders along the coast and with partnership and support from the NERR Science Collaborative, Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Science for Nature and People Partnership.

Interested in joining NOOC and receiving quarterly Olympia oyster updates?  Email olympiaoysters@gmail.com.