Restoring Oyster Populations in Little Lagoon, Gulf Shores, AL
The Little Lagoon oyster project is a 5-year initiative part of a larger project led by the City of Gulf Shores directed at improving overall water quality by strengthening the oyster restoration effort in Little Lagoon.
The project will establish an oyster park, housing adult oysters for restoration, as well as off-bottom dense aggregate spawning areas at two sites within the lagoon. Continuous, real-time water quality monitoring systems will also be installed at both of these locations. The oysters from this initiative will be planted on the sanctuary reef within the lagoon successfully established with oysters from the Little Lagoon Oyster Gardening Program.
Currently, monthly water quality data is being collected from 11 sites within Little Lagoon in accordance with National Shellfish Sanitation Program standards. These data will provide crucial insights in guiding the project’s restoration efforts and determining how Little Lagoon would be likely classified.
