Oyster Integrated Mapping and Monitoring Program (OIMMP)

Large mass of oysters covering the roots of a mangrove forest.

Oysters improve water quality and clarity as they filter feed, lessen shoreline erosion, and provide a habitat or food source for a wide variety of birds, fish, and invertebrates. The eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) is the only reef-building oyster in Florida and forms both subtidal and intertidal reefs. It is important as both a keystone species and an ecosystem engineer. Despite their ecological importance, many Florida estuaries have lost 80–90% of the oyster reefs that were present before human development. Determination of current condition and extent of oyster habitat in Florida is an essential step to developing statewide management and restoration goals for this habitat.

Long view of a salt marsh with oyster beds in the foreground.

The Oyster Integrated Mapping and Monitoring Program (OIMMP) began in 2016 with support provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida’s Wildlife Legacy Initiative, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s State Wildlife Grants Program. The goals of OIMMP include bringing together representatives from mapping and monitoring programs across Florida in order to increase communication, minimize duplicate efforts, and identify data gaps, needs, and priorities. Multiple workshops have been held to bring together Florida’s oyster scientists and managers.

Learn more about the OIMMP workshops, oyster mapping, monitoring, and partner publications

OIMMP also compiles oyster maps from a variety of sources to create a statewide map of oyster habitat.

The Oyster Beds in Florida layer is updated as needed in order to provide the most recent maps of live oyster reef coverage across Florida. Coverage is limited to live oyster reef extent.

The Index of Oyster Maps in Florida provides a record of all available oyster maps in Florida. Maps may include coverage of live oyster reef, oyster shell, and other substrate types.

Oyster Integrated Mapping and Monitoring Program Report

Workshop participants and OIMMP partners collaborated to write a statewide technical report that was published in 2019; the complete report is available below. This report provides summaries of the status of oyster habitat in each region of Florida, mapping and monitoring programs, location-specific threats, and recommendations for oyster management, mapping, and monitoring. Selected chapters from this report have been updated since that time. These updates are web-published below; once all chapters are updated, a second version of the technical report will be compiled and published.

View complete 2019 report