A Gulf Shellfish Institute Initiative

Vertical Oyster Gardens

Vertical oyster gardens (VOGs) are a popular, community-led initiative that help to recover lost ecological services to Tampa Bay!

Enroll a New VOG in Citizen Science Program

What are vertical oyster gardens and how can they help Tampa Bay?

VOGs are recycled oyster shells strung together on a rope or wire and suspended from a dock or seawall.

Oyster reefs are important because they provide:

Habitat for birds, fishes, and invertebrates
Shoreline stabilization and erosion control
Nutrient storage and mitigation
Water filtration

One oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day!

How It Works

Stage 1 - Deployment

Once VOGs are deployed from a dock or seawall, oyster larvae will begin to settle on the oyster shells.
Stage 2 - Create Habitat

The oysters will grow and provide habitat for other marine species like fishes, sponges, and worms.
Stage 3 - Settle / Grow / Reproduce

VOGs mimic the hard substrates that oyster reefs provide. Oyster reefs are formed as oyster larvae settle, grow, and reproduce on a hard substrate or existing oysters.
Stage 4 - Return to Reefs

After 2-3 years, adults oysters on VOGs will be returned to oyster reefs where they will continue to provide ecological services to the Tampa Bay region.

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Want to join our citizen science program?

At the GSI, we are interested in understanding the science behind VOGs.

A few of our research questions are:

What water quality parameters lead to the best recruitment and growth of oysters on VOGs?
How much time does it take for oysters to settle and grow on VOGs?
What other species like to live on VOGs?

By enrolling in our citizen science program, you can help us learn more about VOGs while also helping educate our community about the importance of oyster restoration.

Learn more about what it means to become an Estuary Educator, Oyster Ambassador, or Shellfish Scientist!

Objective
Estuary Educators don’t have water access to deploy their own VOG, but commit to educating community members about the benefits of VOGs to Tampa Bay.
Responsibilities
- Commit to hanging a VOG from their front porch, patio, or anywhere they like.
- Educate their family, friends, and community members on the importance of oysters to Tampa Bay.
Objective
Oyster Ambassadors deploy at least one VOG from their dock or seawall for a minimum of 12 months and allow GSI scientists to collect bi-yearly VOG wet weights and water quality measurements to help determine VOG success.
Responsibilities
- Commit to deploying at least one VOG from their own personal dock or seawall for a minimum of 12 months.
- Allow GSI scientists to collect wet weights of their VOG(s) and water quality measurements at 6- and 12-months post-deployment.
Objective
Shellfish Scientists commit to all of the responsibilities of our Oyster Ambassadors, but become the scientists themselves by helping photo-document their VOG.
Responsibilities
- Commit to all of the responsibilities of Oyster Ambassadors.
- Take photos of their VOGs quarterly and upload them to iNaturalist. Shellfish Scientists will be given an ID sheet with all of the organisms that may be present on their VOGs to assist them with identifying the species present.

Get involved

Become a VOG VIP!

We have seven VOG box locations across the Tampa Bay region where you can pick up your own VOG. (See map)

Check out the map to find the VOG box location closest to you!
Each VOG box is stocked with VOGs that have been weighed and given a unique ID number. This tells us how much your VOG weighed initially so that when oysters and other animals start to settle and grow on your VOG, we can measure that growth over time.
Request a VOG
After you submit the form, GSI’s Scientific Outreach Coordinator will reach out to you to help you find the closest VOG box location to you. Once you pick up your VOGs, you can enroll them in our VOG Citizen Science Program. The top shell of each VOG has an identification number that we will ask you to share with us on the form.
Enroll a New VOG
Thank you for signing up as a Shellfish Scientist! Please upload quarterly observations to our VOG iNaturalist log at the link below.
Here are step-by-step instructions on uploading observations to iNaturalist and an introduction video if you are new to the platform. Please contact GSI’s Scientific Outreach Coordinator if you have any additional questions or need assistance!
Upload VOG Observations