The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries’ Cultch Planting Program is asking for public input on nine prospective cultch planting sites for future projects to enhance oyster habitat.
A Cultch Planting Survey can be found via this link and will be open until Nov. 23.
DMF is seeking participants from both the hand and mechanical wild oyster fishery, as well as from other commercial participants and recreational stakeholders to take the survey. The input will help staff consider commercial preferences and weigh potential impacts on other stakeholders before finalizing locations of future cultch planting operations.
The Cultch Planting Program creates man-made oyster reefs to enhance habitat structure by deploying a thin layer (less than a foot) of small limestone rock, oyster shell or other suitable materials. This provides some elevation underwater and a hard, stable surface for oyster larvae to grow. These sites are then opened for future public harvest. Selection of the nine prospective sites involved extensive surveying to ensure sites did not include already existing shellfish assemblages or subaquatic vegetation.
Additional information and a program overview can be found on the Cultch Program StoryMap.