500 Watermen Reclaim Shell on 1,000 Acres of Oyster Reefs
Every year, 2,600 acres of hard bottom oyster habitat in the Bay are lost. ORP and the Maryland DNR hired more than 500 watermen to reclaim shell on oyster reefs in the Tangier Sound, the Severn River, and the Patuxent River. Read more.... |
Annapolis, MD
May 16, 2009
June 3-June 5, 2009
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Oyster News
March 5, 2009
March 4, 2009
February 24, 2009
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Oyster Recovery Partnership News
May+June 2009
Welcome to our fresh-shucked e-newsletter. As we look ahead, a major step in restoring the health of the Chesapeake Bay will be to enhance our native oyster population. Given their vital role as the Bay's natural water filter and the habitat they provide for other creatures, we need oysters now more than ever. Join us in reclaiming the largest estuary in the United States -- by attending a community event, volunteering, or simply making a donation. Oyster Recovery Partnership, together with our coalition of partners, is leading the charge to make oyster reefs healthy and productive once again. It's Our Future. Sincerely,
Stephan Abel, Executive Director
Oyster Recovery Partnership
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Ask a Scientist
A: Oysters feed by filtering out large quantities of phytoplankton (microscopic plants) and other materials that otherwise make Bay water look green or muddy. As they grow, oysters build reefs that provide habitat for a wide variety of organisms, including high abundances of other filter feeding species.
This Ask a Scientist Answer was provided by Jeffrey C. Cornwell and M. Lisa Kellogg, UMCES Horn Point Laboratory and Kennedy T. Paynter, Jr., University of Maryland, College Park and UMCES Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
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Partner Profile
 Far below the Bay's surface, a watchful eye monitors sensitive oyster beds. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ORP and the Maryland Geological Survey are using sonar technology to map oyster bars in the Chesapeake Bay. The technique, called bottom mapping (or Benthic Survey), provides visual evidence of the condition, size, shape, and location of the bars, as well as how much of the bar is exposed to the water. Knowing where the best areas for oyster habitat are (or once were) is a key step in the successful restoration of oysters and other habitat.
Since 1999, NOAA has been the primary federal funding agency for ORP's cooperative oyster restoration effort. NOAA provides restoration planning, coordination, funding, and technical expertise, including state-of-the-art technologies for bottom mapping, habitat characterization, and monitoring. The majority of their support is for ecological restoration and industry recovery efforts. |
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Out & About
The Annapolis Maritime Museum is dedicated to preserving and commemorating the rich maritime heritage of Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay. The waterfront campus includes the Barge House, which serves as the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse Interpretive Center, Cap'n Herbie Sadler Waterman's Park with a canoe and kayak launching beach, fishing and crabbing piers, transient docks for visiting boaters, and the newly renovated McNasby Oyster Company building, a waterfront education facility with an exhibition gallery and an assembly hall that can be used for classes, concerts, lectures, community meetings, and private functions. |
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Did You Know?
One mature oyster can filter up to how many gallons of water in 1 day?
a. 10 b. 25 c. 50 d. 75
Hint: Oysters once filtered the entire Chesapeake Bay's waters in days. Now it takes more than one year.
The answer will be in the next issue of The Bay Restorer. | |
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