“Now what?” is a question Maryland oyster restoration experts may have been asking themselves in the wake of successfully bringing back oyster populations in five major tributaries.
The five locations were targeted a decade ago, after 2014’s Chesapeake Bay Program’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement outlined a goal to “restore habitat and populations in 10 tributaries by 2025.” Now, four of the five are officially complete and the fifth, the Manokin River, is on target for completion right on time in 2025.
So, what should DNR and restoration advocates like the Oyster Recovery Partnership do now? Is the job finished?
No, there are new goals on the horizon. This month, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced it has selected three new sites for large-scale oyster restoration in state waters of the Chesapeake Bay. It’s the next phase of helping the historically depleted population slowly build up.
DNR presented their selected sites, Herring Bay (southern Maryland), the Nanticoke River (Delmarva), and Hooper Strait (lower Eastern Shore), to the Oyster Advisory Commission. The diverse group of sites includes three different levels of salinity. The department will plant oysters on protected sanctuaries in all three waterways and monitor them regularly.
“These three large-scale restoration sanctuaries represent a new chapter for oyster restoration in Maryland,” Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz said. “We’ve had tremendous success with our existing restoration sanctuaries, and we’re excited to build on that achievement and keep up the momentum for oyster recovery in the Chesapeake Bay.”
Eastern oysters are still at a fraction of their one-time population levels because of overharvesting many years ago, disease, habitat loss and worsening water quality . They’re needed not just as a link in the food chain, but also as natural water filters and habitat providers for other species, thanks…
