Chesapeake Bay on track to beat oyster restoration goal before end of year

The Chesapeake Bay Operation has communicated they re on track to exceed their goal of fully restoring the oyster habitats to tributaries across Maryland and Virginia before the end of the year Functionaries are gearing up to plant the final limited acres of oyster reef in the Manokin River on Maryland s Eastern Shore Over acres of habitat will have been restored by the project s completion it s considered the largest oyster restoration initiative in the world Several tributaries have already been fully restored in Maryland include Harris Creek the Little Choptank Tred Avon and St Mary s rivers In Virginia the Lafayette Piankatank Great Wicomico Lynnhaven Lower York and Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth rivers which brings the total number to rivers restored exceeding the initial goal of The restoration goal was first included in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement the joint federal and state plan to restore the Bay Cited by their ability to naturally filter water and provide habitat for hundreds of other species oysters are considered the bedrock of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem But infection overfishing and water quality degradation have decreased the population according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association One main way executives got those numbers up was by introducing new oysters to the mix Under the SOAR or the Supporting Oyster Aquaculture Restoration venture bushels of oysters not suited for sphere were sold and dumped back into tributaries with lower oyster populations Source