As part of a strategy to make restored beaches more stable, we’ve worked to design and build intertidal oyster reefs made of whelk shell at four different sites along the Delaware Bay. They re-create intertidal reefs that were once common along the shoreline, while reducing erosion at the toe of beach faces. Our first reef, pictured here, was established in 2015 at Reeds Beach and is now encrusted with oysters from natural set and has weathered several winters. We are now planning hybrid oyster reef structures that will be combined with more traditional shoreline protection engineering to stabilize and protect eroding marsh edges at key sites.

Partners: American Littoral Society, Stockton Coastal Research Center, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.