Help for Delaware Bay oysters

Any oyster-lover who has ever tasted a Cape May Salt knows that the current quest to bolster the population of Delaware Bay oysters is more than an environmental mission.

So there are many reasons to cheer the fact that sea captains employed by the Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Task Force were able to plant 159,000 bushels of clam shell -- which young oysters can then attach themselves to and grow -- in the bay.

The seven-year-old program was faced with snatching defeat from the jaws of victory when it encountered a funding problem.  Members of the task force met with fishermen, state and federal officials, local community groups, and businesses in an attempt gain support, said Jennifer Adkins, executive director of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, a member of the task force.  "We had nine months, and a couple of key donations came just in time," she said.

The $200,000 raised was used to plant about 100,000 bushels of clam shells off Seabreeze and Money Island, N.J., 59,000 bushels off Leipsic, Del.  Another 52,000 bushels were planted off Leipsic as part of a natural resource restoration settlement related to the 2004 Athos I oil spill in Paulsboro.

According to past experience, these efforts will boost the economies of local bayshore communities by approximately $5 million over the coming years, the partnership notes in a press release. Rutgers University has estimated that past investments in shell planting have resulted in a return of at least $25 for every $1 invested in oyster restoration, and in some years much higher. A report released by the University of Delaware in May notes that retailers and wholesalers paid almost $3.7 million for last year's harvest alone, the release said.

Those who contributed funding include: the Delaware Bay Section of the New Jersey Shell Fisheries Council, in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; the Delaware Shellfish Advisory Council, in partnership with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control; the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, thanks to funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; DuPont Clear into the Future; PSEG Nuclear; and dozens of private donors.

Businesses that helped with fundraising events include Johnny Brenda's and the Oyster House, both of Philadelphia, and Flying Fish Brewery in Cherry Hill.