ReClam the Bay and BBSRP Shellfish Gardeners Program

The Barnegat Bay Shellfish Restoration Project (BBSRP) is looking for individuals who are interested growing clams and oysters and educating the public about the Barnegat Bay Watershed.  Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Ocean County will offer a program to train shellfish gardeners. The Shellfish Gardener Training Course, which is similar to the Master Gardeners Program, will include spring and fall classroom work, field trips and a supervised summer practicum.

During the past three years volunteers in the Barnegat Bay Shellfish Restoration Program have raised millions of clams and hundreds of thousands of oysters in nurseries in Barnegat Bay.  Beside the fact that we are successfully raising shellfish, the most important part of our program is to educate the public about water quality issues in the Barnegat Bay Watershed.  We do this by inviting the public to join in our efforts at our seven shellfish nurseries at various locations around the bay.  In addition, ReClam the Bay, our non-profit organization, advertises our work in the news media and on their website.  ReClam the Bay helps to support the Barnegat Bay Shellfish Restoration Program through fundraising and education.

SHELLFISH GARDENER TRAINING COURSE 2008

Barnegat Bay Shellfish Restoration Program

Dr. Jim Merritt, Education Coordinator

Goals:

• Train and certify new volunteers to safely raise shellfish in Barnegat Bay

• Educate new volunteers about the ecology of the Barnegat Bay Watershed and how their actions affect the Bay

• Encourage stewardship of Barnegat Bay by volunteers as they help educate the general public

Logistics:

• Training offered through Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Ocean County in cooperation with the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Shellfisheries

• Location:  Ocean County Extension Center, 1623 Whitesville Rd. (Rt. 527) Toms River

• Dates and Times:

  • Spring Term: Seven Tuesday evenings 7-9 PM May 6-June 17; Saturday, all day field trip- June7

  • Summer Practicum: Supervised field experience: twenty (20) hours minimum; Work at shellfish land based nurseries and on shellfish lease sites; Additional work with educational programs, administration, and publicity

  • Fall Term: Five Tuesday evening classes 7-9 PM September 9- October 7; Saturday, all day field trips (to be announced)

• Course fee- $75 for new volunteers (non-refundable.) Individuals may audit single classes for a $15 suggested donation. Experienced members of BBSRP may attend classes and one day field trips at no charge.

• Course Materials:

  • “BBSRP Shellfish Gardening Manual” (2008 Edition)

  • “Field Guide to the Atlantic Seashore,” Kenneth Gosner (available for purchase)

  • “The Northern Quahog: The Biology of Mercenaria mercenaria,” Michael Rice

  • Hand-outs

• For more information:

  1. Log on to website; reclamthebay.org  or http://ocean.rcre.rutgers.edu/marine/bbsrp.html

  2. Contact Dr. Jim Merritt, BBSRP Education Coordinator sedgeisland@optonline.net  609 658-79653.

  3. Contact Gef Flimlin, Marine Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Ocean County Flimlin@aesop.rutgers.edu 732 349-1152  

FALL 2008 SYLLABUS*

I.                   Review and Overview of Fall Term (Dr. Jim Merritt) (9/9/08)

a.       Review of spring term classes and summer field experience

b.      Describe fall classes and field experiences

II.                Clam Biology-Advanced (Dr. John Kraueter, Rutgers Haskin Research Lab.) (9/16/08)

a.       Growth and development

b.      Disease and predation

III.             Oyster Biology-Advanced (Dr. Susan Ford, Rutgers Haskin Research Lab.) (9/23/08)

a.       Growth and development

b.      Disease and predation

 Field Trip- Sedge Island Natural Resource Education Center (9/26- 9/28/08)

a.       Two nights/three days at Sedge - $175 per. person all inclusive

b.      One day shellfish gardening experience- $25 (includes lunch)

c.       Program

                                                              i.      Move shellfish from lease and plant in MCZ. Gef, Jeff, Marty and others bring small boats

                                                            ii.      Kayaking, bird watching, snorkeling and more

IV.             Public Education and Outreach/ Refresher & Review for Exam (9/30/08)

a.       ReClam the Bay (Rick Bushnell)

b.      Exam Review (Dr. Jim Merritt)

c.       Planning for Fall

V.                Final Evaluation/Graduation- Required for certification of all BBSRP Shellfish Gardeners (10/7/08)

a.       Final Evaluation

b.      Banquet

c.       Awarding of Certification

ADDITIONAL FIELD EXPERIENCES

Field Trip- Oysters on Delaware Bay (10/11/08)

a.       Haskin Shellfish Lab – Bivalve, NJ   9:00AM

b.      Meerwald Oyster Schooner – Bivalve, NJ  12:00PM

c.       Cape Shore oyster aquaculture – Cape May, NJ  3:00PM

 

Field Trip- Clam transfer- Upwellers to Sedge Island lease (10/25/08)

a.       Remove 2007 clams from Sedge lease site and bag

b.      Broad cast plant 2007 clams in MCZ

c.       Remove 2008 clams from upwellers

d.      Close down upwellers for winter

e.       Transport 2008 clams to Sedge

f.       Plant 2008 clams on Sedge lease site and cover with screen

 

Field Trip- Clam transfer- upwellers to Waretown lease (11/1/08)

a.       Remove 2007 clams from Waretown lease site and bag

b.      Broadcast plant 2007 clams in MCZ

c.        Remove 2008 clams from upwellers

d.      Close down upwellers for winter

e.       Transport 2008 clams to Waretown

f.       Plant 2008 clams on Waretown lease site and cover with screen

 

*Dates subject to change: Additional, advanced classes may be offered depending on interest:  ex. BB Watershed headwaters- the Pinelands; others

 

2008 SPRING TERM SYLLABUS

1. Open House: open to the public at no charge (4/29/08)

   1. Description of Shellfish Gardener Training Course (Dr. Jim Merritt)

   2. BBSRP, mission  (Gef Flimlin)

   3. ReClam the Bay (Doreen          )

   4. NJ DEP Bureau of Shellfisheries (Dr. Gustavo Calvo)

   5. Barnegat Bay Ecology and Water Quality Monitoring (Cara Muscio)

   6. Registration for the course (Kelly Jorgensen)

2. Shellfish and Barnegat Bay Ecology (5/6/08)

   1. Types of shellfish (Dr. Jim Merritt)

   2. Habitat of clams and oysters (Dr. Jim Merritt)

   3. Barnegat Bay Ecology (Dr. Stan Hales)

3. Water Quality and Barnegat Bay (5/13/08)

   1. Importance of water quality monitoring (Debbie Watkins)

   2. Water quality testing techniques (Cara Muscio & Kyle Bartsch)

   3. Shellfish sieve construction

4. Growing Shellfish  (5/20/08)

   1. Hatchery to planting (Gef Flimlin)

   2. Shellfish predators (Gef Flimlin)

   3. Shellfish Gardening programs on the East Coast

5. Upweller Care and Public Education (5/27/08)

   1. Upweller care and management (Gary Lavorgna)

   2. Public Education and publicity (Rick Bushnell)

6. Data Collection and Silo Construction (6/3/08)

   1. Types of data to be collected (Dr. Jim Merritt)

   2. Methods of data collection  (Professor Bob Macaluso)

   3. Silo construction by volunteers (Gef Flimlin)

   4. Field Trip: A Day on Barnegat Bay; Waretown, NJ (6/7/08)

7. Safe Shellfish Gardening and Review for Mid-term Assessment (6/10/08)*

   1. BBSRP safety concerns and safety practices (Dr. Jim Merritt)

   2. Review for Assessment (Dr. Jim Merritt)

8. Final Spring Meeting (6/17/08)

   1. Mid-term Assessment (Dr. Jim Merritt)

   2. Assignment of mentors

   3. Plan for summer field experience

*  Recommended for all shellfish gardeners