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SCIENCEThursday 28 December 2017
Military turns to oyster reefs to protect against storms
By WAYNE PARRY This Nov. 21, 2017 photo shows oysters growing on larger shells at the Earle Naval Weapons Station such manmade structures.
Associated Press in Middletown N.J. “Waves are affected by
MIDDLETOWN, N.J. (AP) — the roughness of the bot-
Earle Naval Weapons Sta- Associated Press tom,” said Boze Hancock,
tion, where the Navy loads a marine restoration scien-
some of America’s most munities $100 million over The NY/NJ Baykeeper al state in America is us- tist with The Nature Con-
sophisticated weapons the next five years to cre- group has been experi- ing oyster reefs as either a servancy who has studied
onto warships, suffered $50 ate “living shorelines” that menting with oysters at the combination storm-protec- and participated in oyster
million worth of damage include oyster reefs. Navy pier since 2011, origi- tion or a water improve- projects around the world.
in Superstorm Sandy. Now “Having a hardened struc- nally as a way to see if the ment project, or both. “Picture a wave trying to
the naval pier is fortifying ture like that oyster reef will shellfish, through their natu- In addition to cleaning the roll over a huge sponge,
itself with some decidedly absorb some of that wave ral filtering ability, might water, the oyster reefs help compared to one rolling
low-tech protection: oys- energy,” said Earle spokes- help improve water quality blunt the force of incom- over an asphalt parking
ters. man Bill Addison. “All the in the murky Raritan Bay. ing waves. “They are nice lot. The ‘sponge,’ or rough,
The facility has allowed an pipes and cables that are (They did somewhat.) speed bumps,” said Mer- uneven oyster reef, sucks
environmental group to on the pier now, all of that In summer 2016, the group edith Comi, an official with the energy out of the wave
plant nearly a mile of oyster was washed away and planted the oyster reef pri- the Baykeeper group. as it rolls toward the shore.”
reefs about a quarter-mile had to be rebuilt. And marily as a storm protec- Environmentalists say “liv- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone
off its shoreline to serve as there was a lot of flooding tion measure — a trend ing shorelines” including Jr., a New Jersey Demo-
a natural buffer to storm- that came into the base. that has taken hold around oyster colonies are far pref- crat, recently introduced
driven wave damage. Will this protect us against the world within the past erable to, and cheaper The Living Shorelines Act,
Other military bases are all of that? No, but it will decade or so, according than, armoring the coast which would make coastal
enlisting the help of oysters, do a significant amount of to Bryan DeAngelis, a pro- with steel seas walls or communities eligible for
too. In June, environmen- good to protect the base gram coordinator for The wooden bulkheads that $100 million over five years
tal groups and airmen es- and the complex and our Nature Conservancy in invariably accelerate ero- in federal grants for oyster
tablished a reef in the wa- surrounding communities.” Rhode Island. Every coast- sion of the sand in front of reefs and wetlands plants.
ters of Elgin Air Force Base Its prospects remain un-
Reservation in Florida, and certain in the Republican-
more are planned nearby. controlled Congress.
Oysters also help protect In most spots, the oysters
Naval Station Norfolk in Vir- are designed not to be
ginia. harvested and eaten. But
Three oyster reefs protect in other places, includ-
the USS Laffey museum ing New Jersey, the oys-
in South Carolina. And ters have been planted
military installations in Ala- in polluted waterways
bama and North Carolina where shellfish harvesting
have dispatched their en- is prohibited, leading to
listed personnel to help concerns about poachers
build oyster reefs in off- stealing them and sicken-
base coastal sites. ing customers.
They are among hundreds Such a dispute forced Bay-
of places around the U.S. keeper to rip out an oyster
and the world where oys- reef it planted a few miles
ter reefs are being planted from the Navy pier and re-
primarily as storm-protec- locate the shellfish to wa-
tion measures. And a bill ters near the pier that are
just introduced in Congress patrolled by gun-toting
would give coastal com- boats.q
