Month: October 2018

MLML Researchers Plant Baby Oysters in Partnership with the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve

Kimberly Elson

On October 23rd, 2018, baby Olympia oysters were planted in Elkhorn Slough as part of a native oyster restoration project.  A number of MLML Researchers and Graduate Students are featured in these stories and photos about the event:

Elkhorn Slough: A Big Day for Baby Oysters

SeaGrant: Struggling Olympia oysters get a boost from scientists in Monterey Bay

Santa Cruz Sentinel: Bringing Olympia oysters back to Elkhorn Slough

Photo by Brendan Tougher

MLML Researchers Planting Baby Oysters in Partnership with the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve – October 23rd, 2018

Kimberly Elson

MEDIA ADVISORY

October 18, 2018

For more information:

Scott Nichols, ESF Development & Communications Manager

Email: communications@elkhornslough.org

Phone: (831) 728-5939

Interested members of the media are invited to attend this first-of-its-kind restoration effort, which offers exceptional video, photo, and interview opportunities from an active research site on the tidal mudflats of the Elkhorn Slough.

Researchers Planting Baby Oysters at Elkhorn Slough (10/23)

First Attempt in California to Restore Native Oysters through Aquaculture

ELKHORN SLOUGH, CA — On the afternoon of Tuesday, October 23, 2018, members of the media are invited to attend as a team of researchers and volunteers plant juvenile Olympia oysters in the tidal mudflats of Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve. This outplanting of juvenile oysters, raised in partnership with Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, represents the first attempt to support California’s dwindling native oyster populations through aquaculture.

WHAT:  Planting juvenile Olympia oysters (grown through aquaculture in partnership with Moss Landing Marine Laboratories) in the tidal mudflats of the Elkhorn Slough Reserve.

WHEN:  Tuesday, October 23, 2018, 3:00pm-6:00pm. Media are encouraged to RSVP.

WHERE:  Meet at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve Visitor Center, 1700 Elkhorn Road, Watsonville, CA  95076 (map). We will provide rubber boots, if needed, and shuttle media to and from the project site on the Elkhorn Slough Reserve’s tidal mudflats (approx. 10 minutes).

WHO: Reserve Research Coordinator Dr. Kerstin Wasson with researchers, students, and volunteers from Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (ESNERR), Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), and Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML). When the work is complete, there will be a celebratory toast led by MLML Director Jim Harvey, joined by Assemblyman Mark Stone and other supporters of California aquaculture and oyster restoration, including the Anthropocene Institute which provided substantial funding.

WHY:  Researchers, students, and volunteers will plant juvenile oysters in Elkhorn Slough to help restore dwindling native oyster populations. This represents the first attempt to support native oyster restoration through aquaculture in the state of California.

CONTACT:  For more information or to RSVP, please contact Scott Nichols, ESF Development & Communications Manager, at communications@elkhornslough.org or (831) 728-5939.

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Administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) which owns the property, the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (ESNERR), is one of 29 Reserves established nationwide to support long-term research, water-quality monitoring, environmental education, and coastal stewardship. The Elkhorn Slough Foundation (ESF) works in partnership with the Reserve, and is the only nonprofit organization solely dedicated to protecting Elkhorn Slough and its watershed forever. For more information, visit: www.elkhornslough.org.

Elkhorn Slough Reserve volunteers Ken Pollak and Celeste Stanik deploying clam shell reefs with oyster restoration expert Chela Zabin (Photo by Kerstin Wasson, Elkhorn Slough Reserve)

Scott Benson, MLML Research Affiliate, Speaking at the MBNMS Exploration Center – October 12th, 2018

Kimberly Elson

Come hear MLML Research Affiliate Scott Benson at Leatherback Turtle Day!

When: October 12th, 2018 5-8pm

Where: Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center

Scott Benson's Talks:

5:45pm: Leatherback Turtles in the California Current: Why do they cross the Pacific?

7:15pm: Updates from Leatherback's nesting beaches in the Western Pacific

Click here for more info!

Pacific Shark Research Center at Sharktoberfest! – October 4th, 2018

Kimberly Elson

Visit PSRC at Sharktoberfest NightLife

MLML's Pacific Shark Research Center will be at the California Academy of Sciences on October 4th for their Sharktoberfest NightLife Event.  Come ask all your shark questions, or attend one of their talks:

7pm: MLML Grad Student Vicky Vasquez will speak about being the first researcher to identify the elusive Ninja lanternshark.

9pm: MLML Faculty Dr. Dave Ebert has a talk titled “State of Emergency: Searching For Sri Lanka’s Lost Sharks”

Click here for more info!

MLML Quilt Guild Scholarship Quilt Raffle – December 14th, 2018

Kimberly Elson
The Moss Landing Marine Labs Quilt Guild has completed another scholarship quilt and are currently selling tickets to win it.  The wall hanging measures 71 inches wide x 51 inches high (see photo below).  The quilt is a fabric interpretation of Ray Troll's artwork that was developed for N.O.A.A.'s  "Green Seas, Blue Seas" campaign, and used with his and N.O.A.A.'s permission.
 
Tickets are available for $5.00 each or 5 for $20.00.
The drawing will be held at MLML in mid-December, and you do not need to be present to win.  Out of town winners must arrange pick up of the quilt from MLML.
 
Tickets can be purchased two different ways:
 
1) Come to the Front Desk of the Labs Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm, paying with cash or check. 
 
OR
 
2) Mail a check, made out to Tower Foundation, along with your contact information, and the Quilt Guild will fill out the ticket stubs for you.
    Mail to:
    MLML Quilt Guild 
    P.O. Box 172
    Moss Landing, CA 95039
 
Note: If you would like your side of the ticket stub mailed to you, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your payment.
 
Thank you for supporting the Signe Lundstrom Memorial Scholarship Fund for Moss Landing students with your purchase of raffle tickets for this wall hanging quilt.