Fundraiser aims to boost Manatee River oyster restoration

Flashback: Like in Tampa Bay, oyster beds were once plentiful in the Manatee River, to the point that some historical records referred to it as the Oyster River, per a paper by Damon Moore, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Oyster River Ecology.

• Dredging and harvesting in the late 1800s severely depleted the supply.

State of play: Moore's nonprofit is one of several organizations working to restore the river's oyster population to historic levels.

• One way to do so is by planting a creation of Moore's called an oyster rag pot, or a cotton rag dipped in cement and shaped to look like a pot.
• Like reef balls or vertical oyster gardens, the contraption provides a surface from which oysters can spawn and form reefs.

What's next: Oyster River Ecology on Thursday will host its first Oyster Rag Pot Shindig to raise money for the effort. Tickets start at $65 and include old Florida bites, wine and beer, and live music.

• Participants can also view and participate in making an oyster rag pot.
• The rag pots created at the fundraiser will be installed at the group's 10-acre restoration site in the Manatee River, east of the Interstate 75 bridge.