Quantifying the Enhanced Production Provided by Restored Oyster Reefs within Coastal Lagoons of New England

Main Highlights

• Restored eastern oyster reefs significantly increased juvenile fish and crustacean abundance and biomass production.
• Researchers estimated an annual addition of 18.5 ± 4.8 individuals/m² and 256.6 ± 83.5 g/m² of enhanced biomass productivity.
• Quantitative ecosystem service estimates can help align restoration investments with management and conservation objectives.
• Findings provide a framework for incorporating fish production and ecosystem services into future restoration planning.

Abstract

Restoration practices that create or augment marine habitat may be used as a management tool to improve ecosystem function and enhance ecosystem services. For example, restoration of habitat-forming bivalves, such as eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica), enhances water quality, shoreline stabilization, and fish biomass production. Quantifying the ecosystem services enhanced by a unit of restored oyster reef can inform local and regional planning initiatives that aim to align the scale of restoration with management goals. Quantitative estimates of enhanced fish and crustacean production per square meter of restored oyster reef in two coastal lagoons in Rhode Island were derived by applying species-specific growth and mortality models to eight fish and one crustacean species identified as being enhanced by oyster reefs. Restored oyster reefs resulted in an estimated annual addition of 18.5 ± 4.8 individuals/m2 and 256.6 ± 83.5 g/m2 of enhanced gross biomass productivity of juvenile fish and crustaceans. These results represent a conservative estimate of the potential enhanced production from oyster reef restoration in the New England region of the US. Quantitative estimates of local fish production, and other services will help decision-makers transition to setting goals based on ecosystem services to inform future restoration efforts.

Citation

Eric G. Schneider, Jonathan H. Grabowski, A. Randall Hughes, Patrick D. Barrett, Theresa M. Davenport, Elizabeth A. Soranno, M. Conor Mcmanus, Reuben J. A. Macfarlan, Bryan M. Deangelis, Philine S. E. Zu Ermgassen "Quantifying the Enhanced Production Provided by Restored Oyster Reefs within Coastal Lagoons of New England," Journal of Shellfish Research, 45(2), 333-344, (10 August 2026)