A nonprofit organization working to restore water-filtering oysters in the Manatee River is speeding up its progress with an unconventional new tool.
The Manatee River, once known as the Oyster River, had a surplus of oysters in the 1800s. But, largely due to their commercial harvesting for road pavement and building materials, the oysters were “partially or totally depleted” by the 20th century.
Oyster River Ecology, a nonprofit organization founded in 2022 by Damon Moore, is spearheading a project to increase oyster numbers at Eileen Reef, just east of Interstate 75 in the Manatee River…