First VOG monitoring visit completed at ANERR

The Restoration Coordinator, Training and Engagement Specialist, and the Conservation Corps conducted their first Vertical Oyster Garden (VOG) monitoring. The Reserve is partnering with homeowners with docks to install VOGs or cured oyster shells on a string. About 30 - 40 VOGs are installed on a dock for up to a year and monitored quarterly. Oyster spat, seeds, and adults alive and dead are counted, critters living on the VOG are recorded, and VOGs are weighed and photographed. This information is used to tell the Reserve about oyster recruitment in Apalachicola Bay.