RICHMOND — As part of an ongoing effort to restore the shoreline at Richmond’s Point San Pablo after years of environmental damage, 200 artificial oyster reefs have been placed along four acres where the former Red Rocks warehouse and wharf stood.
“This project replaces old creosote pilings that were polluting our bay with better habitat for Pacific herring and other fish and wildlife, by restoring native oyster reefs and eelgrass beds that are part of a healthy bay ecosystem,” said Marilyn Latta, who is managing the project for the state Coastal Conservancy.
The artificial reefs — placed last week along four acres of underwater shoreline — are made of a mixture of concrete, native sand and rock, and oyster shell. Some of them look like spheres with holes in them and others have rectangular patterns.
They provide both the right kind of surface for native oyster larvae to clamp onto and mature into shellfish and a home for other species like worms and small crustaceans at the bottom of the ecosystem’s food chain.
That in turn will support other animals such as the native Pacific herring, whose numbers have drastically declined over the past decade, Latta said.
Installing the artificial reefs is the second phase of the Coastal Conservancy’s “San Francisco Bay Creosote Piling Removal and Pacific Restoration Project.” The first phase, completed in 2016, removed more than 441 tons of debris from the former Red Rocks warehouse and adjoining wharf that had been there since the 1930s, according to a news release from the conservancy.
The debris included 413 creosote-treated piles in the bay that were harming the herring and 35 tons of concrete and collapsed decking, the news release said.
The third phase — scheduled for next spring — is to plant eelgrass to further improve the habitat for herring and other wildlife.
“Living shorelines are a cost-effective and sustainable way to protect communities from sea level rise and shoreline erosion, and are being adopted by more and more regions across the country,” Latta said.
The $2 million restoration project is being funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s San Francisco Bay Estuary Conservation Fund. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation funds conservation efforts throughout the country.
The 200 new artificial reefs are not the only ones in the San Francisco Bay. In 2013, nonprofit environmental group the Watershed Project planted 100 similar artificial reefs in the water off Point Pinole Regional Park in Richmond. Latta said the technique is commonly used on the East Coast.
In addition to increasing the native oyster numbers, the reefs also provide a feeding area for birds. Scientists are also interested in the “physical benefits” of the reefs — they can slow down wave energy, decreasing shoreline erosion, she said.
The reefs do not require maintenance, Latta said.
“It’s kind of a model project,” She said. “We’re very much hoping other cities, counties and groups will be inspired to test these techniques on their shoreline.”
