Cue the romantic music.

The natural process of oysters reproducing. Mature oysters reproduce by releasing sperm and eggs into the water during spawning season. Fun fact: oysters can change sexes throughout the course of their lives!

In our Great South Bay oyster sanctuaries, we make sure to give our oyster friends plenty of privacy during this romantic time of year to let nature do what nature does best!

Recruitment is an amazing process that highlights the resilience of species like oysters in our bay.

In order for oyster populations to sustain growth after reproduction occurs, newborn oyster larvae must have a suitable habitat that allows them to develop to maturity.

Oysters require a hard surface for them to grow on, which they will attach to as a larva and remain for the rest of their lives.

In our sanctuaries, we build habitats using vacated oyster shells to give new generations of oysters a place to live, reproduce, and repeat, with the goal of returning teeming numbers of oysters to the bay.

Save The Great South Bay is a local environmental nonprofit whose mission is to restore water quality in the Great South Bay for future generations to enjoy. Our Word of the Week initiative aims to make the scientific vocabulary of environmentalism accessible to everyone. View past Words of the Week at www.savethegreatsouthbay.org under News & Events in the Photo Gallery.