Coastal Preservation & Restoration

10/08/2026

THIS!

A new study shows that the world's oyster reefs are a precious resource that's vastly underestimated and underutilized. The authors set out to calculate the reefs' potential gross ecosystem product (GEP), the ecological counterpart of the gross economic product, and arrived at trillions of dollars i...

10/02/2026

Galveston Bay Foundation has an active oyster garden growing program -- members of the community grow oysters in their homes or wherever they can access one of the Galveston bays that are transported later to reefs. Today CPR visited Drew Bacon's garden in Maggie's Cove on West Bay. Oyster shells are placed in cages, and cages are places high in the water up out of the mud. Sometimes people hang the cages off of docks. The oyster larvae floating in the bay system look for places to land -- like oyster shells, concrete, and bricks. The larvae found his shells, attached, and are growing fast. We found small fish and baby crabs in the cages with the oysters. It is cool that oysters foster biodiversity - whether growing in cages like this, in baskets on farms, or on natural or restored reefs.

Drew put his shells and cages in the water last May.  He's been watching them grow. Very cool!

Thank you Galveston Bay Foundation and Drew Bacon for making the world better!

Galveston Bay Foundation

09/15/2026

Captain Naiser and FlatsWorthy led the charge to get an entire bay system in Coastal Bend declared a sanctuary now protected from further harvest. This was in 2022, and was enacted by the Legislature. This work enables -- and necessitates -- restoration to accelerate and scale at this site to restore what is described in this video. This video is one of the best out there explaining how oyster reefs protect habitat by managing water flow, especially baffle oyster reefs.  It's Short. I am definitely worth a watch.  Carlos Reef is next up for restoration. Join us and a group of community partners to help. CCA had generously pledged $1M to this $3M project. We have pledged $500K --  and our dream is that collectively we can raise the additional $ 1.5M by the end of December  so that construction on a 70-acre section of Carlos Reef can start and finish in 2027. Permits are in hand thanks to TPWD. Success is proved -- TPWD   delivered a adjacent 70 acre project in 2024 that is showing reef growth 2–4 times larger than area is not yet restored. We invite you to join us! Please share this and donate to www.cprtexas.org to help restore this vital habitat and protect it from future loss.

Baffle reef presentation with a few edits, including a title.

09/14/2026

This is what we are working to protect and restore. This is Aransas Bay at Sunrise.

09/04/2026

Marshes, sea grasses and oyster reefs found in our Texas coastal bays and estuaries create nurseries that fuel the entire coast. They supply the Gulf fishery, provide food and habitat the shorebirds like this beautiful green heron, and feed you and me. Please help protect and restore our coastal bays and estuaries and thank you for anything you are already doing to help!

08/29/2026

One of the most fun and educational posts of the week - every Friday - from Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M in Corpus Christi.

Mr. Crabby was cleaning his eyes. He used his mouth parts to rub across his eyes.

08/25/2026

Thank you, Captain Naiser, Annie and FlatsWorthy, for the powerful videos and panel you led on August 7 in Rockport about the state of our Texas coastal bays. It is critically important for all of us who care about our ecological health, the vibrancy and resilience of our coast, and our future to understand what is happening and what must be done - greater protections from oyster over harvest and a faster shift to sustainable harvest including oyster farming to start - and more. This is doable - it's not a mystery. It must happen. Deep gratitude to all panelists and organizations who participated in this event and more importantly who are making a real difference in our shared world. Head over to FlatsWorthy's fb page to see some great videos that explain what was discussed. And please support them - their mission matters.

FlatsWorthy
Chuck Naiser
Texas Oyster Mariculture Association
Keith Miears

08/22/2026

Salt water marshes, sea grasses and oyster reefs make up our bay ecosystems. Oyster reefs anchor both the marshes and sea grasses. And together they support marine and bird life. Here is some of the shore birds of Galveston's West Bay, one of our beautiful Texas coastal bay ecosystems.

08/19/2026

Cool position available!

🦪 Join the Future of Oyster Aquaculture in Texas
We're seeking a Shellfish Aquaculture Research Manager to lead the development of a new oyster aquaculture facility at the Fisheries and Mariculture Laboratory in Port Aransas. This Ph.D.-level position will help advance research, hatchery development, and industry engagement focused on Gulf Coast oyster aquaculture.

👉 Apply here: https://utaustin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UTstaff/job/PORT-ARANSAS-TX/Shellfish-Aquaculture-Research-Manager_R_00047314?q=marine%20science