By JOAN PHILLIPS
NAS Patuxent River Public Affairs Department

PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, MD-As an accomplished electronics engineer and U.S. Naval Test Pilot School graduate, NAVAIR team member Stephen Huett is no stranger to new and innovative ideas. That's why he jumped at the chance to establish experimental oyster aquaculture test sites here. For Huett, the benefits for the waters surrounding the NAS were obvious.

"The oysters actually filter the water," explains Huett. "The more oysters in the system, the cleaner the water. If it works, this program will not only provide a commercial harvest of oysters, but will also be good for the Patuxent River and the Bay."

Huett became interested in the idea while visiting a commercial fishing operation in Hawaii. He brought what he learned there home to southern Maryland and began working through an extensive permitting and approval process. Before establishing the test areas in the station's Harper's, Pearson, Goose and St. Inigoes Creeks, Huett worked with the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources fisheries service. This close working relationship with regulators continues since Huett received the experimental oyster aquaculture permit needed to establish his operation.

The station's natural resources management team, headed by Kyle Rambo, has also played an integral role in the planning and permitting process. Huett consults the team for command approval of plans and expert advice on the station's natural resources.

A member of the Circle C Oyster Ranchers Association, Inc., Huett explains that the sites onboard Pax River will be used this year to determine their suitability for commercial "growout" of farm-raised oysters. In addition, the operation's effect on other water-based activities, such as recreational boating and fishing, will be evaluated.

The oysters are being raised in artificial oyster reefs. Each reef consists of a float measuring three by ten-feet in size, constructed of PVC tubing, and containing five French oyster bags. Each bag contains about 1,000 of the 38,000 oysters planned for this year's test.

A relatively new idea in Maryland, the technique for surface cultured oysters has been around for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks grew oysters on strings and the Japanese have been farming oysters since the early twentieth century.

Surface raised oysters provide many benefits when compared to bottom raised oysters. Oysters raised on the surface have greater access to food supplies and oxygen, resulting in much faster growth rates. Bottom raised oysters grow about one inch per year, while surface-raised oysters can have growth rates of three inches per year or greater. In addition, the oysters filter out particles (3 to 40 microns in size) suspended at the surface of the water column, allowing greater light penetration.

For example, one three-inch adult oyster filters about 50 gallons of water per day. The increased light penetration has a positive effect on the growth of submerged aquatic vegetation and the bags the oysters grow in provide shelter for a wide variety of other aquatic creatures like shrimp, fish, and crabs. This increases the biodiversity in and around the oyster reefs.

"If this year's test proves successful, the operation may be expanded next year, says Huett. In an effort to give back to the naval air station, the Circle C Oyster Ranchers Association, and I have committed to assist in the restoration of the natural oyster beds around the NAS, by planting oysters there."

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