Coastal Restoration

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is one of five partners with the North Carolina Coastal Federation that will receive part of a $5 million, two-year federal recovery act grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The grant will put private industry and commercial fishermen to work helping the state restore oyster habitat, creating or retaining 140 jobs.

In one component of the grant project, a private barge company will build two large oyster reefs, one off Hatteras at Clam Shoal and one off Stumpy Point at Crab Hole. A total of 54,450 tons of stone rip rap will be purchased and split between the two sites, which combined total 46.9 acres.

In a second component of the project, DMF will pay fishermen $2 per bushel to distribute 40,000 bushels of oyster shell on 19 cultch planting sites in coastal North Carolina. The sites combined total two acres and are located in Hyde, Carteret, Pender and New Hanover counties. This work is expected to begin next spring.

DMF will receive $570,011 for its part of the projects, which will include the hiring of six temporary technicians, four to oversee rip-rap deployment to the two oyster reefs and two to oversee the shell planting program. The funding also includes contractual payments to fishermen and for boat and tractor rentals, fuel and other travel costs and various supplies.