Coastal Alabama marsh loss: How oysters can help rebuild shoreline

2 months ago 19
The Chevron Pascagoula Refinery in Pascagoula, Miss., is seen in the distance near marshy islands in Grand Bay near Coden, Ala., Aug. 20, 2026. Scientist Dottie Byron said that these small, marshy islands used to all be one big island, but they are now split into several due to rising sea levels over time. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Angela Levins, the public relations director at Dauphin Island Sea Lab, looks out from a boat to the eroding marshland off the coast near Coden, Ala., Aug. 20, 2026. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Dottie Byron pulls a clump of dirt off of her boat's anchor in Grand Bay near Coden, Ala., Aug. 20, 2026. Although Byron didn't mean to anchor where there was seagrass, she was enthused to see that it was growing. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Eroding marshland is seen in the Portersville Bay near Coden, Ala., Aug. 20, 2026. Many factors influence marsh disappearance in coastal Alabama, and between 2009 and 2021, marsh loss in the region ranged from 13.2 acres on the northeast side of Dauphin Island to 210 acres just a few miles away in Portersville and Heron bays. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Dottie Byron, a scientist with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, drives a boat in the Portersville Bay while wearing a An egret flies above marshland in the Portersville Bay near Coden, Ala., Aug. 20, 2026. Marsh, when in healthy condition, serves as a natural barrier between sea and land when storms roll in, typically bearing the brunt of damages. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Angela Levins, the public relations director at Dauphin Island Sea Lab, films eroding marsh from a boat with her iPhone near Coden, Ala., Aug. 20, 2026. Not only do Alabama's marshes serve as important storm barriers, but they also provide habitat for numerous species of wildlife, including seafood that some locals depend on. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)A crab trap is seen washed onto the marsh near Coden, Ala., Aug. 20, 2026. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Eroding marshland is seen in the Portersville Bay off the coast near Coden, Ala., Aug. 20, 2026. Alabama's marshes disappearing is nothing new, and it's caused by a variety of factors. Blair Morrison, the science and monitoring program lead with the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, said, “a lot of these ecosystems, I like to say they’re being impacted by a thousand cuts.” (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Dottie Byron, a scientist with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, glances out at Alabama's marshy coastline near Coden, Ala., Aug. 20, 2026. Byron has built several Andy Depaola walks back up his self-made pier into his backyard in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. In regard to what preventive measure works best for combatting storm damage, Depaola said that Andy Depaola's self-built pier is tied to the seafloor using ropes in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. Depaola built his pier in these small sections so that they could bear the brunt of a bad storm and not be destroyed as easily. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Oyster shells are seen in Andy Depaola's yard in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. Depaola wants to essentially rebuild lost land on the shoreline by creating spaces for oysters to bond together, creating a surface. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Andy Depaola releases a string ray that got stuck in a crab trap in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)A boat wheel hangs on a pillar on Andy Depaola's home in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. Depaola is aiming to protect his waterfront property on Mon Louis Island by implementing a Andy Depaola looks out onto the water from his pier in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. His pier was built in modular sections, now tied to the seafloor with rope, which allows it to sustain storm damage better. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Andy Depaola pulls part of his self-named A crab is seen in one of Andy Depaola's traps in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Wooden pilings, with birds sitting on top, are seen beyond Andy Depaola's pier in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. Depaola said that these pilings, about 1,000 feet out from the shore today, mark where the shoreline was before two of the most destructive storms in the area ever in 1906 and 1916. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)A sign reads Andy Depaola takes oysters out of a trap on his pier in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. Depaola is passionate about finding innovative ways to work with oysters to improve coastal environments, like that right outside of his home. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Andy Depaola glances out into Mobile Bay from his back porch in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. Since retiring, Depaola has been focusing his attention on trying to save the coastal environment that surrounds him. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Andy Depaola walks down his self-made pier in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. Depaola and a few others built the pier in 2013 with a structure that aimed – and has relatively succeeded – to survive storm damage. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Andy Depaola looks at a crab in his trap in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. Depaola has several items like this crab trap hanging off of his pier. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Andy Depaola walks around his property on the Mobile Bay, including his house, beach and self-made pier in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Isopods crawl along the sand and rocks in Depaola's backyard in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Andy Depaola walks around vegetation in his yard in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. Over the last 21 years since Hurricane Katrina, Depaola has planted pampas grass, live oaks, fig trees, sweet potatoes, scuppernong grapes and more to help retain as much land as possible during future severe storms. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Andy Depaola's house, right, is seen next to his neighbor's house in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. The two residents have taken different approaches to protecting their property from storm damage; Depaola has more vegetation to break up wind and waves – mimicking a natural marsh – while his neighbor has what is known as an Andy Depaola walks across the property line from his own backyard to his neighbor's in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. Depaola has a variety of plant species in his backyard, most of it intentionally planted following Hurricane Katrina, while his neighbor's yard has been taken over by kudzu. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)A large group of dead oysters are found on Andy Depaola's property in Coden, Ala., Aug. 19, 2026. Depaola has aspirations to rebuild destroyed, eroded or otherwise disappeared shoreline with the help of oysters and their multiplying properties. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)Several feet of marsh in front of Andrew Saunders' property in Elberta, Ala. on July 31, 2026. In the background, Saunders' neighbor has placed a bulkhead around his property, an A metal dolphin sits above a wind compass on Andrew Saunders' pier in Elberta, Ala. on July 31, 2026. Saunders lives at the head of Wolf Bay and has worked to protect the marsh in front of his land. (Photo by Margaret Kates/mkates@al.com)Christian Miller (left), public sector program lead with the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, and Jackie Wilson (right), operator of Bama Bay Oyster Farm on Mobile Bay in Coden, Ala. The Bama Bay property was one of the first to implement a Roots of a pine tree hang over the water off Andrew Saunders' property in Elberta, Ala. Erosion has eaten away and the sand and soil in which the roots grew, leaving them exposed to the air (and jeopardizing the health of the tree). (Photo by Margaret Kates/mkates@al.com)Andrew Saunders' pier into Wolf Bay in Elberta, Ala. on July 31, 2026. Saunders intentionally built his pier over the marsh grasses, hoping to disrupt their habitat as little as possible. (Photo by Margaret Kates/mkates@al.com)The view of Orange Beach from Andrew Saunders' pier on Wolf Bay in Elberta, Ala. The largely unobstructed path allows the wind fetch from the south to pick up, contributing to the marsh erosion Saunders is experiencing. (Photo by Margaret Kates/mkates@al.com)A pocket beach on the Bama Bay Oyster Farm property in Coden, Ala. The rock formation (called a breakwater) holds the beach in place, preventing erosion. The grasses on the beach naturally planted over time, strengthening the system, Wilson said. (Photo by Margaret Kates/mkates@al.com)Christian Miller, public sector program lead for the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, walks up the pier toward land at Bama Bay Oyster Farm in Coden, Ala. The beach on the property is one of just a few pocket beaches on the western shore of Mobile Bay, that helps protect against storm damage. (Photo by Margaret Kates/mkates@al.com)A view of the exposed pine tree roots on Andrew Saunders' property on Wolf Bay in Elberta, Ala. Saunders hopes to restore the shoreline under and in front of these trees, preventing further erosion. (Photo by Margaret Kates/mkates@al.com)Andy Depaola poses on the observation deck of his pier on Fri., August 7, 2026. The pier leads up to his house, which sits on a 20-foot bluff above Mobile Bay. DePaola planted the trees and plants in front of the house to keep the bluff from eroding in the event of severe storms. (Photo by Margaret Kates/mkates@al.com)Birds sit on abandoned pilings on the western shore of Mobile Bay at Mon Louis Island on Fri., August 7, 2026. Frequent storms can destroy piers quickly, Depaola said. (Photo by Margaret Kates/mkates@al.com)Andy Depaola, a resident of Mon Louis Island south of Mobile, gestures to the place in the water that was once the edge of his shoreline on Mobile Bay on Fri. August 7, 2026. (Photo by Margaret Kates/mkates@al.com)Scuppernong grapes on Andy Depaola's bluff on Mon Louis Island on Fri., August 7, 2026. In order to prevent erosion of his 20-foot bluff, Depaola planted a variety of flora, like oak trees, oleander, and more. He hoped the grape vines would strengthen the tree root systems that keep the shoreline intact. (Photo by Margaret Kates/mkates@al.com)Debris on Andy Depaola's beach on the western shore of Mobile Bay on Fri., August 7, 2026. In July, Tropical Storm Bertha damaged his steps to the beach, even though it was a mild storm. (Photo by Margaret Kates/mkates@al.com)A raw oyster grown on the “express” shellevator in Portersville Bay in Coden, Ala. (Photo by Margaret Kates | mkates@al.com)Depaola sorts through oysters grown on the “express” shellevator on Portersville Bay in Coden, Ala., on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Depaola began growing oysters for his own enjoyment in 2013. (Photo by Margaret Kates | mkates@al.com).Oysters grow in bags in the “express” shellevator on Portersville Bay in Coden, Ala., on June 11, 2024. Each bag on the shellevator can hold around 300 fully grown and ready for market oysters. (Photo by Margaret Kates | mkates@al.com)The “express” shellevator rising out of the water off a pier in Portersville Bay in Coden, Ala., on June 11, 2024. (Photo by Margaret Kates | mkates@al.com)Depaola holds up a freshly shucked oyster grown in a shellevator on Portersville Bay in Coden, Ala., on June 11, 2024. (Photo by Margaret Kates | mkates@al.com)Andy Depaola eats a freshly shucked oyster grown in the “express” shellevator on Portersville Bay in Coden, Ala., on June 11, 2024. Depaola, a former microbiologist, created the shellevator to find an easier way to raise oysters. (Photo by Margaret Kates | mkates@al.com)Depaola holds up oysters grown in a shellevator on Portersville Bay in Coden, Ala., on June 11, 2024. The “express” shellevator can hold 96 bags of oysters, and each holds between 300-500 oysters. (Photo by Margaret Kates | mkates@al.com)The “express” shellevator under water off a pier in Portersville Bay in Coden, Ala., on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (Photo by Margaret Kates | mkates@al.com)

This is the final installment of “A thousand cuts,” AL.com’s series on coastal erosion.

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