America Invests in N.C. Estuaries - Down East Oysters

Coastal North Carolina is getting a $5 million slice of federal stimulus funding to restore its oyster reefs and fisheries economy.

Local commercial fishermen -- like these men and women working in April on Cedar Island -- are being paid through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to plant shell piles, which form the foundations for new oyster reefs.

Recruited fishermen are planting 10,000 bushels of shell in Hyde County, 11,000 bushels in Carteret County, 18,000 bushels in Onslow County and 2,000 bushels in New Hanover County.

The project is led by the N.C. Coastal Federation with the help of N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. Sea Grant research, including work funded by the N.C. Fishery Resource Grant, helped determine the new reef locations and designs.

To learn more, go to: http://www.ncseagrant.org/home/about-ncsg/news-events?task=showArticle&id...

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