North Carolina’s native oyster, Crassostrea virginica, needs your help!
North Carolina’s oyster populations are estimated to be at about 15-20% of historic levels. Oysters are incredibly important to the ecosystem, providing reef habitat for other creatures and improving water quality by filtering the water. Oysters also play an important role in our coastal communities, supporting our seafood industry through wild harvest and farmed oysters.
Your Coins For Conservation donations will support the Federation’s work on the coast, including restoring our native oysters. This year, the Federation will restore four acres of new oyster reef at Carolina Beach State Park, and plan the locations for a series of additional reefs stretching from the Park downriver toward Fort Fisher to form the Cape Fear Oyster Pathway. Your donations will also support volunteer and education opportunities, as well as recycling oyster shells to create new reefs and promoting oysters as a farm to table product through the NC Oyster Trail.
