ReClam The Bay Building New Shellfish Nursery On Barnegat Bay

When you're eating clams or oysters, you probably don't give much thought to where or how they get their start -- or the role they play in the environment.

ReClam The Bay is working to bring attention to the role of shellfish in the ecosystem, and they're doing it in a hands-on way: by having volunteers help to raise baby clams, oysters and bay scallops at upwellers throughout Ocean County as part of the Barnegat Bay Shellfish Restoration Program.

The nonprofit organization, which has helped to raise millions of baby clams and other shellfish, is working with Brick Township to create an interpretive site at Traders Cove, near the Mantoloking Bridge.

Ground was broken for the project on May 23 and the kiosk for the interpretive center was constructed "in record time," said Charlie Brandt, spokesman for ReClam The Bay. 

The interpretive center, which will include an upweller, also referred to as a clam nursery, is projected to open to the public on July 5, Brandt said. In addition to baby clams, the nursery will have baby oysters and baby bay scallops. The nursery will be available to the public all times that Traders Cove is open to the public, he said.

ReClam The Bay aims to educate the public about the environmental benefit of shellfish filtering, feeding and cleaning of estuaries. 

"Our mission is to involve the general public so they will understand that the quality of the water in our estuary, and the quality of the shellfish we eat, are really their responsibility," the group says on its website. "By involving the public in the care, feeding and life cycle of these fragile creatures, we believe that our citizens will better understand how working with the shellfish can help to clean up our environment and keep it clean."

When the interpretive center opens, ReClam The Bay shellfish Gardeners will be available at the site on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. each week starting until October, when the baby clams will be returned to the bay. Visitors will be able to hold the clams, and learn from the members of ReClam The Bay why these tiny animals are so important to the bay’s survival.

The initial work at the site includes pluming the nursery, which enables the pumping of 60 gallons of bay water into the nursery tank every minute. That water brings with it the phytoplankton that the clams and oysters will feed upon as they grow rapidly during the summer months.

The site will also have a Giant Clam, like those seen at other upweller sites and in front of businesses and organizations that support ReClam the Bay.

ReClam The Bay is always looking for volunteers of all ages to help care for the baby clams. The volunteers running the sites are certified shellfish gardeners who have taken a 12-week course created by the Barnegat Bay Shellfish Restoration Program and Rutgers University. While the knowledge obtained during the course is important, everyone is invited to come on a regular basis when the nursery is open and help care for the baby clams. Volunteers are always welcome at any ReClam The Bay nursery around the bay by just by showing up and saying you want to help the bay.

Come see and touch baby clams and oysters at their nursery. Learn about them and Barnegat Bay with the help of volunteers from ReClam The Bay. This free family activity takes place weekly June through September at the following sites:

MONDAYS, 10 a.m.
Seaside Park, 24th and Bayview

WEDNESDAYS, 10 a.m.
Cattus Island County Park, 1169 Bandon Road, Toms River at the Ocean County Parks & Recreation Dock
Traders Cove Park & Marina, 40 Mantoloking Road, Brick (site set to open July 5)

THURSDAYS, 5 p.m.
Surf City Yacht Club, 10th at the Bay, South Parking Lot

FRIDAYS
Mantoloking Yacht Club, Bay & Downer avenues, 10:30 a.m.
Barnegat Light Nursery, Boat Ramp, 10th & Bay, 11 a.m.
Old Coast Guard Station, Pelham Avenue & the Bay, Beach Haven, 9:30 a.m.
Morrison’s Marina, 525 2nd St., Beach Haven, 11 a.m.
Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club, Norwood Avenue & Bay, Beach Haven, 9 a.m.

SATURDAYS

Holiday Harbor Marina, 115 Admiral Way, Waretown, 8 a.m.

For further information call the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Ocean County, 732-349-1152. For more information on ReClam the Bay, visit their website by clicking here.