On Monday, some of the young scholars of the East Hampton Middle School’s Surfrider Club described to the East Hampton Town Trustees their experiences seeding oysters and hard clams in Three Mile Harbor earlier this month.
The club helped the trustees by seeding the harbor on Oct. 7, David Cataletto, a trustee and teacher at the middle school, told his colleagues. “They want to present to you what happened,” he said.
On that day, “we had the incredible opportunity to partner with the East Hampton Shellfish Hatchery” in assisting with seeding the harbor and ensuring cleaner waters in the process, David Bravo, who is in sixth grade, told the trustees. “We are excited to be here tonight to share what we have accomplished, and why this project means so much to us as students and local community members.”
“Our team seeded 80,000 baby clams and 10,000 oysters into the Three Mile Harbor,” said Nicholas Yang, who is in seventh grade. “That is a total of 90,000 new shellfish introduced into our local ecosystem in just one afternoon.” They worked alongside John (Barley) Dunne, the hatchery’s director, Nicholas told the trustees, carefully distributing the clams and oysters “to give them the best possible chance to thrive.”
These bivalves, said A.J. Struble, “aren’t just additions to the harbor. They are nature’s water filtration system.” A single mature oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water daily, while a hard clam can filter up to 24 gallons per day, the sixth-grade student said. “By filtering excess algae and floating particles, they improve sunlight penetration,” promoting growth of vegetation like eelgrass and creating a healthier habitat for fish and crabs in the harbor.
“Beyond the ecological benefits, it was an absolute blast,” said Lucia Limonius, who is in sixth grade. “It was a picture-perfect fall day on the water.” Club members paddled on kayaks and stand-up paddleboards carrying containers of seed clams and oysters. “Balancing on paddleboards while carefully seeding shellfish was definitely a fun challenge,” Lucia said. “Everyone left with big smiles, and only three kids fell in!”
The project “represents what hands-on stewardship is all about,” she said. The town’s waterways “are central to our community, economy, and everyday life. Getting out on the harbor allows us to directly help preserve our environment. It gives us a sense of pride knowing that our effort will benefit the Three Mile Harbor for years to come.”
“We look forward to continuing our work together on future coastal restoration projects,” A.J. told the trustees.