EEL Living Shoreline

Zoo staff deploying plants at Hog Point

Plant transporting for the Maritime Hammock

Oyster bags staged at Coconut Point before deployment

Oyster bag breakwater at Maritime Hammock – pre-deployment

Oyster bag breakwater at Maritime Hammock – post-deployment

Maritime Hammock completed oyster bag breakwater

Live oyster bag deployment at Hog Point oyster reef

Knotgrass and Sesuvium ready to be planted

Hog Point living shoreline planting

General Project Information

Project footprint:

800 l.ft. oysters (4,800 sq. ft)., 965 l.ft. living shoreline vegetation (12,045 sq.ft.)

Location:

Coconut Point 4020 S Hwy A1A, Melbourne Beach, FL 32951, Hog Point 4520 S Hwy A1A, Melbourne Beach, FL 32951, and Maritime Hammock 6100 S Hwy A1A, Melbourne Beach, FL 32951

Can it be visited by the public?

Yes/No

Coconut Point & Maritime Hammock are open to the public but Hog Point is closed to the public.

Coordinating organization:

Restore Our Shores, a conservation program of Brevard Zoo. https://restoreourshores.org/

Timeline

Start date and completion date:

November 2016 – November 2017

Other relevant timeline information:

Project features oyster bag breakwaters, Oyster CORE modules, multiple species of plants, seagrass, and live oysters. The project was funded by Brevard County’s Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project Plan the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program. Installation was completed by staff from Brevard Zoo and Brevard County. Project pursued three Environmental Resource Permit exemptions with FL Dept. of Environmental Protection and the St. Johns River Water Management District. Three companion Nationwide 54 Permits were received with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program is the sole funder of the seagrass pilot restoration project.
Built across three different conservation properties in Melbourne Beach managed by Brevard County’s Environmentally Endangered Lands program. The project received 4300 plants representing 15 different species, including native grasses, shrubs, wildflowers, mangroves (all 3 of our native species), palms, trees, and seagrasses. Live oysters were added at a density of 100 oysters/yard3 and were provided by Brevard Zoo’s Oyster Gardening project in partnership with Brevard County. An estimated 17,000 live adult oysters were deployed. A pilot test of a new material was added as well, these Community Oyster Reef Enhancement (CORE) modules were designed by researchers from UF’s Whitney Lab and are being tested throughout the Lagoon. This pilot test is the largest deployment of CORE modules in Brevard.
One of these properties has also received a seagrass restoration pilot being overseen by Dr. Robert Virnstein. 600 rhizome fragments of Shoal Grass (Halodule wrightii) were planted at 0.5m spacing over 48m2 of test plots. No grazer exclusion devices were used and the seagrass was purchased from the Florida Oceanographic Society.

Project Components

Type of project:

Vegitaion Only, Sills

Materials:

Mangroves, Other native plants, Oyster mats/bags, Oyster CORE modules

Energy level:

MEDIUM

Optional information

Plant species included:

Rhizophora mangle (Red Mangrove) 118x 7-gallon pots
Spartina patens (Marsh Hay Cordgrass) 223x 4” plugs
Avicennia germinans (Black Mangrove) 165x 3-gallon pots
Paspalum vaginatum (Knotgrass) 1787x 2” plugs
Sesuvium portulacastrum (Sea Purslane) 893x 2” plugs
Laguncularia racemosa (White Mangrove) 39x 3-gallon pots
Iva frutescens (Marsh Elder) 78x 2” plugs
Myrica cerifera (Wax Myrtle) 16x 1-gallon pots
Gaillardia pulchella (Blanket flower) 71x 1-gallon pots
Borrichia frutescens (Sea Ox-Eye Daisy) 141x 4” plugs
Spartina bakeri (Sand Cordgrass) 58x 3-gallon pots
Sabal palmetto (Cabbage Palm) 16x 1-gallon pots
Muhlenbergia capillaris (Muhly Grass) 35x 1-gallon pots
Coccoloba uvifera (Sea Grape) 47x 3-gallon pots

Source of materials:

Brevard’s regional Shuck and Share program provided the oyster shell cultch, and Brevard Zoo’s Oyster Gardening project provided the live oysters.
Aquatic Plants of Florida provided all the plants except for the Red and White mangroves and the Shoal Grass.
Martin County Farms (now EW Consultants) provided the Red and White mangroves.
Florida Oceanographic provided the Shoal Grass.

Cultch material used:

Oyster shell collected and recycled by the Shuck and Share program, coordinated in the county by Brevard Zoo.

Cost per linear foot:

$95/l.ft for oysters and $89/l.ft for the living shoreline but this does not include the seagrass pilot or the source of the live oysters for this project. Brevard’s Oyster Gardening project and the seagrass pilot were both funded separately and those costs are not included above.

Contact for more information:

Jake Zehnder, jzehnder@brevardzoo.org