The Chesapeake Bay is healthier thanks to the 6 billion oysters that have been added to the estuary since 2017.
The Chesapeake Oyster Alliance (COA) considered 2023 a banner year for Chesapeake Bay oyster restoration and aquaculture. In adding 6 billion oysters to the waterway, the alliance has surpassed the halfway point to its goal of adding 10 billion oysters to the Chesapeake Bay by 2025. The milestone was reached through coordination of federal, state, and local efforts.
COA’s count aims to include oysters directly added to the Bay and its tributaries through restoration and aquaculture. The majority of those contributions come from major restoration initiatives in Maryland and Virginia towards 11 Bay tributaries, which are tracking towards their 2025 completion date.
Oysters are crucial to the health of the Chesapeake Bay. They filter water and form reefs that in turn provide essential habitat for other species. They also are important to the area’s recreational commercial fisheries, local economy, and culture.
“We’re seeing an exciting oyster renaissance on the Bay, from massive tributary scale-efforts down to widespread citizen involvement and public awareness. At least six billion oysters have been added to the Chesapeake in recent years thanks to heroic work by Maryland and Virginia, federal partners, and COA aquaculture and restoration partners,” said Tanner Council, COA Senior Manager for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, in a statement. “Each year, the Chesapeake Bay is getting closer to an extremely ambitious goal of adding 10 billion new oysters.”
The record year (2023) in Maryland for oyster count can be partly attributed to large-scale restoration work by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Oyster Recovery Partnership.
Small-scale restoration work also contributed, like the efforts of individuals and small businesses through oyster gardening programs.
The COA was founded in 2018 by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) to spark momentum and innovative ideas about how to bring back oysters from their historically low levels. Now COA includes more than 110 nonprofits, businesses, academic institutions, and aquaculture operations. The organizations partner to advocate for the acceleration of oyster restoration, science-based fisheries management, and expanding the oyster aquaculture industry throughout the Chesapeake Bay.
The COA does this through oyster innovation grants, restoration funding, facilitating collaboration between partners, and an annual Chesapeake Oyster Science Symposium.
“Having now surpassed the halfway mark, we are more motivated than ever to maintain momentum and accelerate progress by building support, innovation, and partnerships,” Council said.
In January 2024, COA announced its most recent Oyster Innovation Awards. They totaled $140,000 to 15 organizations progressing in oyster-related research, technologies, educational opportunities, and more. This is the fourth consecutive year the COA Oyster Innovation Awards have distributed grants like these.
