Tampa Bay Watch, in partnership with Audubon of Florida and with the help of community volunteers, will create 300 feet of new oyster shell reefs on Whiskey Stump Key, a small sandy, mangrove island located in Hillsborough Bay three miles south of the mouth of the Alafia River in Riverview on May 14, 15 & 16.
“We’re working to build an oyster bar on the western shoreline of the natural mangrove island. Over time the island has experienced erosion due to changes in currents and sand distribution. Creation of a series of oyster bars is proposed to prevent further erosion of Whiskey Stump Key, create an oyster reef and protected shallow, calm water shoreline habitats, and improve water quality through the natural biological filtration that living oysters provide,” offered Serra Herndon, environmental scientist for Tampa Bay Watch.
Whiskey Stump Key served as the island home for the very first Audubon Sanctuary Warden in Tampa Bay. The warden’s presence on the island ensured that the adjacent bird colony on Green Key was protected from the ravages of the plume hunters in the area. This valuable historical and natural island is managed by Audubon of Florida’s Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries Program.
Restored oyster bars – essentially a man-made reef of natural fossilized oyster shells – will provide a solid surface for young pioneering oysters to attach to and grow their own shells. Living oysters that settle on the fossilized shells will provide multiple benefits to Tampa Bay, including providing a valuable food source for a myriad of water life, acting as natural water filters, with each oyster filtering up to 10 gallons of water per hour, stabilizing the bottom sediments and reducing wave energy in the area.
