FAIRHOPE, Ala. - It’s harvest time along the shores of Mobile Bay, but the crop isn’t cotton, peanuts or soybeans. Instead, another commodity with high economic as well as environmental value — oysters — will soon be gathered from pier “gardens” in Baldwin and Mobile counties. They will then be transplanted in the bay where they can reach their full potential.

Mobile Bay National Estuary Program Oyster Gardening Program Coordinator Kara Lankford said more than 50,000 shellfish will be pulled as early as next week from cages that have been tended by 44 volunteer gardeners. This year, 28 of those participants reside in Baldwin County.

On Thursday, Lankford and staff from the Auburn University Marine Extension and Research Center continued making preparations for the seventh annual harvest by raising the cages and counting the oysters suitable for transplanting. Those with shells at least 2 inches in length are likely tough enough to be safe from predators such as the blue crab.

“That gives them a better chance of survival,” Lankford said. “It would take a really big crab to break open a 2-inch oyster.”

She said the spat, or juvenile oyster, is around 4 millimeters long when placed in the cage on a platform of discarded shells in June. From there, they grow and are checked by the volunteers, who look for signs of predators and guard against algae buildup until they are harvested in late October or early November.

A single female oyster may release 100 million eggs annually, according to Lankford. Settling larvae require a hard substrate for settlement, which is another reason why oyster reef protection and replenishment is important.

Beds in Mobile Bay and surrounding waterways have experienced a decline in the oyster population over the last several years, partly due to the demand for fresh seafood. She added, “With our oysters, we have had more problems with predators. It’s obviously a bigger deal for oysters not in a cage.”

In addition to being tasty, oysters act as nature’s septic system by filtering suspended particulate matter from the water column for food. That’s why state health officials do not allow oysters to be taken from the northern part of the bay, where there is a greater threat of fecal contamination.

The oyster gardening program is likewise prohibited from placing cages north of Mullet Point Park on County Road One for the same reason. They are instead placed as far south as Fort Morgan Road.

“We have to be in open (legal) water,” Lankford said. “The upper waters are closed for health reasons. We would like to convince the health department to allow us to grow oysters in closed waters because we could grow so many more.”

The oyster gardening program began in 2001 with 30 volunteers, and has done well since then.

Around 74,000 oysters were distributed in 2003. Hurricane Ivan in 2004 destroyed 75 percent of the oyster yield grown by 62 volunteer gardeners, however, and Hurricane Katrina wiped out 80 percent of the oysters the program had hoped to distribute in 2005.

Lankford said, “Before Hurricane Ivan hit, we had more volunteers. A lot of people lost their piers, so we’re still trying to rebuild the program. Last year, only 33 volunteers took part.

The threat this year has not been from hurricanes, but rather a drought which has plagued the state all summer. It was feared fewer of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) would grow to the desired size. Oyster reefs provide habitat for other marine species that also contribute to coastal economies, said Lankford. These reefs also stabilize fragile shorelines by absorbing erosive wave action.

She noted that young oysters are placed only on growth reefs — those off limits to oystering. That gives them ample opportunity to further grow and produce spat that can be later moved to commercial reefs.

“We want them to be water filters, not for consumption,” Lankford said.

Among the drop points this year, she said, are Denton Reef, Boykin Reef, Shellbanks Reef and Broodstock Reef (in Bon Secour Bay). The oysters will be moved from the cages to large shrimp baskets before being dumped from boats positioned using known Global Positioning System coordinates.

The Mobile Bay Oyster Gardening Program was patterned after a similar program in Chesapeake Bay, where oysters are considered endangered by many. The Mobile Bay NEP effort was the first on the Gulf Coast.

The city of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. is currently setting up an oyster gardening program based on our local success story, and is also receiving assistance from the Auburn University Shellfish Lab.

Planning will soon begin for the 2008 program, and Mobile Bay NEP officials hope even more waterfront residents will take part.

“Our volunteers are really educated, and go through a training program,” Lankford said. “It’s pretty easy to participate. We give them the supplies (needed to build the cages) and deliver the oysters. They just need to check them once a week and hose them off or shake them in the water.”

Program staff will build the cages for those unable to do so, she said, adding one volunteer can grow up to 1,000 oysters.

In addition to raising the young shellfish, Lankford said volunteers help educate the public about oysters’ contributions to estuarine communities.