This cost-effective project is filtering the Manatee River. Here’s what to know

A local nonprofit called Oyster River Ecology is rebuilding vital oyster populations in the Manatee River using a low-cost invention made from cotton rags and cement.

The devices, called oyster rag pots, cost about 85 cents per square foot and could eventually help filter the entire river’s volume in 22 days.

FULL STORY: One rag at a time. How a nonprofit is filtering the Manatee River

Here are key takeaways:

• The Manatee River was once called the Oyster River, but commercial harvesting for road pavement and building materials left oyster populations “partially or totally depleted” by the 20th century.
• Founder Damon Moore got the idea for oyster rag pots from an Etsy video showing how to make flower pots by dipping denim jeans in cement. Each ORP uses four components: a cotton rag, cement, a wooden spacer and a metal pin.
• The first test plot was installed just over two years ago. Moore said oysters were “growing and doing really well, especially compared to all of the other methods” the group tested.
• A single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day. Once complete, the Eileen Reef project would have the capacity to filter the river’s full volume in 22 days, according to ecological project coordinator Abbey Kuhn.
• The project has permits for 10 acres at Eileen Reef, just east of Interstate 75. Funding for the first 1.5 acres came from community members, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and a Tampa Bay Environmental Restoration Fund grant.
• In 2024, Moore won NOAA’s Dr. Nancy Foster Habitat Conservation Award for his work “protecting and restoring Florida’s coastal ecosystems.”

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.

This story was originally published March 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM.