Mobile Baykeeper

Your SWIM Report is here.

13 out of the 20 sites passed testing and are safe for swimming and all your other favorite water activities. While we love to celebrate healthy water, not all sites passed – be sure to read the report before getting on the water.

During the summer season, volunteers test weekly for Enterococcus and E. Coli. While these bacteria are not necessarily dangerous on their own, they are indicators that other, more dangerous pathogens may be present. Swimming in water with high levels of these bacteria could potentially lead to serious health issues.

Don't see your favorite spot on our report? Check out the interactive map on our website to see the levels for sites tested by ADEM and the City of Daphne. And subscribe to our SWIM Report to get these results delivered directly to your inbox. https://mobilebaykeeper.org/swim-guide/

Thank you to our presenting partner, CrowderGulf (crowdergulf.com), and to contributing sponsors Michael & Debbie Quinn, Bay Break Fairhope, Gulf Surgical Dermatology, and Fly Creek Marina, whose investments make these reports possible.

Reading the Report:⁠
Blue text indicates low bacteria levels 235 MPN for Bohemian Park)

Putting shell in the water is an important part of oyster restoration, but if there aren’t enough young oysters, enough healthy places for them to grow, or enough coordination among the people doing the work, those reefs may never become living systems.

Baykeeper’s oyster work focuses on those pieces at the same time.

Our 2026 goal is to plant 500,000 oysters for restoration, while our partners are working toward producing spat on shell for future reefs. We’re also working alongside the reef-building efforts of the Alabama Commercial Fisherman Association LLC to build 28 reefs across Heron Bay.

So far, roughly 20,000 lbs of shell contributed by Isle Dauphine Oysters and Alabama Coastal Foundation shell recycling program has already been placed on 26 of 28 planned reefs in Heron Bay. This shell will serve as the foundation that will provide habitat for baby oysters for years to come.

Become a Baykeeper and keep the work going at https://mobilebaykeeper.org/memberdrive/

Coastal Alabama once had far more living oyster reefs than we see today. Those reefs created generations of harvesters who made a living on the water.

Since the 1950s, an estimated 85 percent of the oyster population in the Mobile Bay watershed has been lost. Historic shell removal, dredging, storms, predation, and changing environmental conditions have all put pressure on reefs over time.

Losing our oyster reefs means losing fish habitat, shoreline protection, filtration, fishing grounds, seafood production, and a piece of the culture built around these waters.

Luckily, there are lots of folks working to bring them back.

Over the next several weeks, we’re going to show you what it takes to bring back our oysters and highlight the people across Coastal Alabama already doing the work.

Learn more and become a Baykeeper at https://mobilebaykeeper.org/memberdrive/

📷: Young oysterers working on an oyster boat in Mobile Bay. National Child Labor Committee collection, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

The fall 2025 issue of CURRENTS magazine visited Isle Dauphine Oyster Company and explored the concept of merroir, the idea that water, salinity, location, and surrounding conditions shape an oyster's flavor.

“The environment is so important that it has a unique name — the ‘merroir.’ From the bold brininess of Dauphin Island to the clean, delicate balance of Mobile-Tensaw Delta, every Isle Dauphine Oyster tells the story of its estuary."

"An oyster’s merroir is completely unique — as little as a mile away will be totally different.” - Doug Ankersen, President of Isle Dauphine Oyster Company.

Bringing back Coastal Alabama’s oysters goes far beyond restoring habitat. It is about protecting the connection between healthy water, local seafood, working waterfronts, and the culture of this coast. That is part of what this Fall Member Drive is about.

Read “Proud Merroir” in CURRENTS at https://mobilebaykeeper.org/proud-merroir/

Your SWIM Report is here.

11 of the 20 sites failed testing and are over the EPA threshold for bacteria. Please use caution in and around these waterways.

During the summer season, volunteers test weekly for Enterococcus and E. Coli. While these bacteria are not necessarily dangerous on their own, they are indicators that other, more dangerous pathogens may be present. Swimming in water with high levels of these bacteria could potentially lead to serious health issues.

Don't see your favorite spot on our report? Check out the interactive map on our website to see the levels for sites tested by ADEM and the City of Daphne. And subscribe to our SWIM Report to get these results delivered directly to your inbox. https://mobilebaykeeper.org/swim-guide/

Thank you to our presenting partner, CrowderGulf (crowdergulf.com), and to contributing sponsors Michael & Debbie Quinn, Bay Break Fairhope, Gulf Surgical Dermatology, and Fly Creek Marina, whose investments make these reports possible.

Reading the Report:⁠ ⁠

Blue text indicates low bacteria levels 235 MPN for Bohemian Park)

Oysters have always been part of life in Coastal Alabama. They are on our tables and in our family recipes. They support working waterfronts and local businesses. Oyster reefs create places for our speckled trout and blue crabs to live, protect our shorelines, and help clean our waters.

But over the last 70 years, we’ve lost more than 80% of our oysters.

This fall, Mobile Baykeeper is bringing our community together to bring them back. Our 2026 goal is to plant 500,000 oysters for restoration, and at the same time, our partners are working toward producing 1 million spat on shell for future reefs.

To meet this goal, it’ll take harvesters, farmers, scientists, volunteers, businesses, and coastal communities working toward the same future.

These are your waters. Restore what we’ve lost.

Become a Baykeeper today at https://mobilebaykeeper.org/memberdrive/

And save the date for the Oyster Jamboree on October 25th at the Grand Hotel.

Growth shouldn't come at the expense of the waters and places that make living down here so special.

The decisions Baldwin County commissioners make on sewer capacity, stormwater, wetlands, and land use are key in protecting them.

Our Smart Growth Scorecard tracks where Baldwin County is making progress and where more work still needs to be done.

At yesterday's commission meeting, none of the priorities on our scorecard moved forward.

Your county commissioners need to hear from you about the importance of implementing Smart Growth for Baldwin County. Learn more about what we're asking for and write to your commissioners at https://baldwincountysmartgrowth.com/

“I slept on my mama’s porch, but I lived in the Bay.”

Captain Tom Yeager grew up on Pier Street, spending his days in Mobile Bay with his dog Boo Boo, fishing, swimming, and exploring seagrass beds that he remembers as being “like a coral reef.”

“There would be a stingray or crab or flounder. Everything lived in it, you just can’t believe it. That ribbon grass was over a foot tall so it just flowed around. It was unbelievable, really. You just never dreamed it would disappear, you know.”

In the summer 2026 issue of CURRENTS magazine, Tom sits down with Rachel Ball to share what it was like growing up on the Bay and what has changed since.

Read the full article at https://mobilebaykeeper.org/pleasure-bay/

🖋️ Rachel Ball
📷 Courtney Mason

Alabama’s oyster tongers are seeing firsthand what the decline of our oyster reefs means for both livelihoods and the health of Mobile Bay.

Their concerns are also a reminder of why Mobile Baykeeper’s oyster work matters. Restoring oysters is not simply about putting shell back in the water. It means understanding why reefs are disappearing, protecting the conditions oysters need to survive and reproduce, and working alongside the people who know these waters best, like the Alabama Commercial Fisherman Association LLC, to pursue restoration that actually lasts.

We stand with our oyster community, and remain committed to doing the work necessary to give these reefs a real chance to recover. We invite all who want to be a part of the solution to sign up to volunteer. https://mobilebaykeeper.org/oyster-restoration/