Dear Friends of NY/NJ Baykeeper,

By now you may have heard the sad and frustrating news that the New Jersey DEP has issued a press release announcing its intention to ban all research related gardening of commercial shellfish in contaminated coastal and inner harbor waters and seek immediate removal of species now growing in such waters. Since NY/NJ Baykeeper is the only group conducting such activities, the DEP announcement effectively calls for the elimination of our oyster restoration program.

NY/NJ Baykeeper has actively sought to restore oysters in the Hudson/Raritan Estuary over the past ten years through scientific research, citizen involvement and education. We have prioritized oyster restoration because we know that without the habitat oyster reefs provide the ecosystem will never properly recover and without their incredible ability to filter pollution out of the water, the harbor will never be as clean as it should.