Over 100,000 Oysters Were Grown In Virginia Last Year, Which Is A Big Deal For Our Environment
More than 110,000 oysters were grown in Virginia in 2024, which is a big deal for our environment, especially because in the last 200 years, as much as 85 percent of the world’s oyster reefs have disappeared.
The successful planting and raising of oysters is thanks to the efforts of volunteers participating in the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s oyster gardening programs.
In these programs, volunteers act as “foster parents” for several hundred baby oysters. The volunteers can start growing oysters after taking a seminar. Oysters can be grown using wire cages on a private dock, marina, community pier, or waterfront business.
Once the oysters reach adulthood, they are returned to the Foundation to be planted on sanctuary reefs. Oyster gardeners can begin growing a new batch after the previous oysters are transplanted.
This oyster restoration project helps coastal communities that are vulnerable to rising sea levels. Shorelines that include healthy oyster shell reefs serve as natural protection against erosion. They can also help safeguard habitats that capture and store carbon.
Oysters filter algae and sediment from up to 50 gallons of water per day, allowing vegetation in the Chesapeake Bay area to receive the proper amount of sunlight. In addition, they deposit organic matter that is rich in nutrients.
When the oysters grown in 2024 reach adulthood, they will be able to filter more than five million gallons of water each day, according to the Foundation.
In early 2024, the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance announced a major milestone: over six billion oysters have been introduced into the Chesapeake Bay since 2017. The Alliance plans to introduce 10 billion oysters to Chesapeake Bay tributaries by 2025.
“There’s nothing quite like the connection between these baby oysters and their foster parents,” said Jessica Lutzow, the oyster restoration specialist at the Foundation in Virginia.
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“The dedication and love it takes to raise these oysters, from cleaning cages to sending them off to live out on sanctuary reefs, is nothing short of special.”
A total of 64 families and organizations have agreed to raise oysters at marinas and public docks instead of on private waterfront property.
An oyster gardener at one of the Hampton docks, Claire Neubert, originally started raising oysters as a way to benefit the environment, but it has since changed the course of her life.
“I live in an urban environment, and it’s amazing to find these babies flourish given all the challenges they face,” said Neubert. “At the end of the day, it really becomes a question of who’s growing who.”
Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay face four major threats: pollution, overharvesting, habitat loss, and disease. Through the efforts of both volunteers and environmentalists, progress is happening slowly but steadily.
Together, they are giving oyster shell reefs a chance to regrow into the complex structures that once dominated the coastlines.
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