Shellfish restoration and enhancement work towards restoring habitats where shellfish naturally recruit to maximize shellfish production and ecosystem services.
Restoration is a blanket term, as there are many different approaches to shellfish restoration. The main principals of restoration are:
- Planting clean, dry shell to provide a hard substrate for oyster larvae to settle
- Collecting shells buried by siltation and replanting them on the bottom surface
- Adding natural, mature oysters to the area to act as spawners
For more information about shellfish restoration and enhancement in Connecticut:
