Michael W. Beck, Robert D. Brumbaugh, Laura Airoldi Alvar Carranza, Loren D. Coen, Christine Crawford, Omar Defeo, Graham J. Edgar, Boze Hancock, M atthew Kay, Hunter Lenihan, Mark W. Luckenbach, Caitlyn L. Toropova, Guofan Zhang Results. Condition of Oyster Reefs Globally Across Bays and Ecoregions. Regional Summaries of the Condition of Shellfish Reefs Overview of Threats and Causes of Decline. Recommendations for Conservation, Restoration and Management Conclusions References Appendix 1 Michael W. Beck“, Robert D. Brumbaughb, Laura AiroldL, Alvar Carranzad, Loren D. Coen*, Christine Crawfordi Omar Defeod, Graham J. Edgarf, Boze Hancock®, Matthew Kayh, Hunter Lenihan11, Mark W. Luckenbach', Caitlyn L. Toropova“, Guofan Zhang “ The Nature Conservancy, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060 b b The Nature Conservancy; PO Box 420237, Summerland Key, FL 33042 * Dipartimento di Biología Evoluziomstica Sperimentale, Université di Bologna, Via S. Alberto 163,1-48100 Ravenna, Italy d d Marine Science Unit, Ecology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Montevideo, Uruguay * Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, 9 0 0 A Tarpon Bay Road, Sanibel, FL 33957 f Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia ® The Nature Conservancy; University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, Rl 028882 h Bren School, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5131 ' Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, Wachapreague, VA 23480 i Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, China Cover photo: Oyster reets at Virginia Coastal Reserve. © Barry T ru itt/T N C © Barry T ru itt/T N C Many colleagues contributed to this assessment by The authors in particular thank Christine Shepard, Zach providing access to data sets ranging from local to global Ferdaña, Jeff Vincent, Antonella Fatone, Ximing Guo, and scales, helping to find important and often obscure Bill Arnold for help with the data, figures and maps. references, and offering recommendations based on personal and professional experiences. A pair of expert We also thank our many colleagues in the field who workshops was convened at which participants offered an have already been working diligently to conserve and array of perspectives from scientific research institutions, restore shellfish habitats and ecosystems. We have management agencies, conservation organizations, and the learned so much from them. Lynne Hale, Erica Rychwalski, shellfish aquaculture industry. These workshops were and Emily Woglom have provided critical support and instrumental for crafting recommendations in this report thinking at many times in the development of the report and informing the outcomes. and recommendations. Some of the many people and participants who provided Funding for this assessment was provided by The information and perspectives included Bill Arnold, Anne Kabcenell Family Foundation. Financial support through Birch, Rafael Calderon, X im ing Guo, Li Li, Bill Eichbaum, the National Partnership between The Nature Conservancy Colin Brannen, John Caddy, Fei Xu, Aad Smaal, Antonella and NOAA Community-based Restoration Program is also Fatone, Adriana Gracia, Alex Gamarra, Marcela Pascual, gratefully acknowledged. Support was also provided by Marcelo Henriques, Melissa Holman, Luis Prado, Luis the University of Bologna through project Adriabio. Leon, César Lodeiros, Michael Savarese, Margaret Spring, Greg Tolley and Aswani Volety Citation: Beck, M.W., R.D. Brumbaugh, L. Airoldi, A. Carranza, L.D. Coen, C. Crawford, O. Defeo, G.J. Edgar, B. Hancock, M. Kay, H. Lenihan, M .W . Luckenbach, C.L. Toropova, G. Zhang. 2 0 0 9 . Shellfish Reefs at Risk: A Global Analysis of Problems and Solutions. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington VA. 52 pp. 1 © Barry T ru itt/T N C Once dominant features in many temperate estuaries been lost—even greater than the losses reported for other around the world, native oyster reefs are critically important important habitats including coral reefs, mangroves, and ecologically and economically. Centuries of intensive seagrasses. Although oyster reefs are beginning to receive fisheries extraction exacerbated by more recent coastal some conservation attention, they remain an obscure degradation have put oyster reefs near or past the point ecosystem component and still are vanishing at sometimes of functional extinction globally, but sensible solutions that alarming rates. could ensure conservation of remaining reefs and even reverse losses to restore ecosystem services are available. Many threats that have contributed to the profound loss of These solutions involve wider application of area-based reefs around the world continue largely unabated today. conservation approaches, improvements in fisheries Destructive fishing practices that directly alter the physical management, enhanced restoration for multiple ecosystem structure of reefs have been implicated in rapid declines in services (e.g., water filtration, nutrient removal, shoreline both fisheries productivity and overall reef condition in protection and fish habitat provision), and partnerships to many estuaries. Fishing practices involving translocation improve water quality. and introduction of non-native shellfish within and between bays has increased the incidence and severity of disease This is the first global assessment of the distribution and and parasite outbreaks that have all but eliminated fisheries condition of bivalve shellfish reefs that occur in temperate in many coastal areas. Coastal development activities and subtropical estuaries. The assessment is focused including filling ("land-reclamation") and dredging of primarily on biogenic reefs formed by oysters within their shipping channels have also taken a toll on reefs. Likewise, native ranges, but also includes observations about mussels activities occurring upstream continue to cause problems that form beds and provide other ecosystem services. We as human populations increase in coastal watersheds. compiled quantitative and qualitative data about these reef- Altered river flows, construction of dams, poorly managed form ing species from published literature as well as expert agriculture, and urban development can all impact the surveys and direct observations and derived condition quality and quantity of water and sediments that affect estimates for oyster reefs in 144 estuaries and 40 whether shellfish reefs persist or perish. ecoregions around the world. Based on these data, we conclude that oyster reefs are one of, and likely the most, There are many things that can and should be done to imperiled marine habitat on earth: oyster reefs are in poor address this glaring gap in marine conservation. We identify condition, defined as having declined >90% from historic a series of cost-effective strategies that can help turn the levels, in 70% of bays and 63% of marine ecoregions. Even tide. No one strategy will be right for each area or threat and more troubling, oyster reefs are functionally extinct (>99% it is assumed that multiple strategies will be needed in most loss of reefs) in 37% of estuaries and 28% of ecoregions. places. The strategies are grouped into five themes: Globally, we estimate that 85% of oyster reefs have 2 • Improve Protection for reefs of native shellfish; as water filtration, nutrient removal, shoreline protection, and provision of fish habitat should receive the same • Restore and Recover Reefs back to functioning ecosystems that provide multiple services to humans; consideration (or greater, depending on location) as fisheries in management objectives. Greater use should • Manage Fisheries Sustainably for ecosystems and be made of these tools and approaches. livelihoods; • Stop the Intentional Introduction and Spread of Non­ Fourth, further introductions of non-native oyster species native Shellfish; and to new areas should not be allowed. The cumulative • Improve Water Quality. impacts of the globalization of a few oyster species (and their hitchhikers) have been great, and few regions remain that are still free of introduced oysters. First, native, wild oyster reefs need to be recognized explicitly as a priority for habitat management and Fifth, addressing threats originating within watersheds such conservation and in the development of protected area as nutrient pollution, erosion, excessive sediment supply, policies. They are an imperiled habitat with little protection and altered freshwater flows, will increase the effectiveness in place. Because they are typically found nearshore and are of conservation and management. Enhancing native relatively static features in the coastal zone, shellfish reefs populations will help restore natural biofiltration capacity are conducive to being managed through area-based in estuaries and bays. approaches such as marine protected areas (MPAs) and community concessions. The condition of oyster reef habitat is generally poor and the challenge in revitalizing native oyster reefs is great. Second, reef recovery and restoration is needed on a scale Nevertheless we suggest many reasonable actions that will commensurate with losses. Existing funds can be used work on local to regional to global scales. Fundamental to better and new funding streams are possible for rebuilding ensuring success of these actions, oyster reefs and other reefs and their services. shellfish-dominated habitats need to be managed as critical components of coastal ecosystems and