Dave Matthews Band Helps NJ Oyster Project

Thousands of baby oysters growing in a New Jersey bay as part of a water improvement project are getting an assist from the Dave Matthews Band.

The band, through its Bama Works Fund, gave a grant for more than $16,000 to the NY/NJ Baykeeper Group, an environmental organization.

Baykeeper will use the money to rebuild and relocate the building in Highlands that it used to grow the oysters from seed. The building was damaged in Superstorm Sandy last October.

Thousands of the oysters have been successfully transplanted to the Raritan Bay at the Earle Naval Weapons Station pier, where a rigorously enforced security perimeter prevents any possibility of poaching.

Oysters filter the water in which they sit. One of the project's goals is to improve water quality in the bay.

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