Oyster sanctuaries are allowing restored reefs to form clumps of habitat for bay critters

The Paynter Lab at the University of Maryland conducts oyster reef surveys three years after restored reefs are planted with baby oysters, known as spat.

In 2010, Chesapeake Bay Program partners including the Army Corps of Engineers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) began a large-scale, tributary-based restoration effort to build, seed and monitor oyster reefs.

The 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement calls for oysters to be restored in ten tributaries—five in Maryland and five in Virginia—by 2025.

ORP seeded Harris Creek from 2011 to 2015, mostly with spat from Horn Point Oyster Hatchery in Cambridge, Md., with additional spat from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. A total of roughly 350 acres received two billion oysters, making Harris Creek one of the largest oyster restoration projects in the world.

Video Credits

Produced by
Will Parson
Music:
A.A. Aalto via FreeMusicArchive.org
Additional footage:
Norfolk Public Library and New York Public Library
Special thanks to
The Paynter Lab at the University of Maryland

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