| Restoring Our Oyster. Cleaning Our Bay. Preserving Our Future. |
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2010 Chesapeake Bay Area CFC
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ORP is an approved charitable organization designated within the 2010 Chesapeake Bay Area Combined Federal Campaign. To designate your gift to the ORP, use code 91587. We are on page 128 of the campaign guide. |
New Oyster Video Just Released!
| See the ORP's updated video with never before seen footage about the Chesapeake Bay oyster.
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Show Your Support! |
 Thank you to the Old Ebbitt Grill in Washington, D.C., a member of ORP's Shell Recycling Alliance, who is hosting its 16th Annual Oyster Riot on November 19 and 20, including a new Saturday matinee event that will benefit the Oyster Recovery Partnership. The event sold out in 4 minutes! The Oyster Riot is a raucous celebration of oysters, paired with the winners of the "International Wines for Oysters" competition. Tens of thousands of oysters will be slurped and the shells will be recycled through ORP's Shell Recycling Alliance. |
| Check Out Our New Fundraising Events Page | |
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| Sponsor Shell Recycling | |
We're currently looking for a 2010-2011 ORP Shell Recycling Alliance sponsor. Learn more today! |
| Meet Our Board Members |
Bill Goldsborough was a member of the Oyster Roundtable that formed the Oyster Recovery Partnership when he joined the Board in 1994. Bill is a Senior Scientist and Director of the Fisheries Program at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF). He began his work with CBF in 1978 in the Education Department, managing the Smith Island and the Baltimore Education Centers. Bill then developed the Fisheries Program within the Environmental Protection and Restoration Department where he continues his work today. Bill graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and holds a Masters degree in Estuarine Science from the University of Maryland.
CBF's Fisheries Program includes both advocacy and restoration components. As advocates for fisheries conservation, Bill and his CBF colleagues participate in the regulatory and legislative arenas by lobbying for sound, science-based fisheries management and sufficient funding for oyster restoration. Bill sits on Maryland's Sport Fish and Tidal Fish Advisory Commissions and is a member of its delegation to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. In 2010, he co-authored a report entitled "On the Brink: Chesapeake's Native Oysters, What it Will Take to Bring Them Back".
CBF's fisheries restoration work is entirely about oysters. Beginning in 1997 with its oyster gardening program, CBF expanded its oyster work under Bill's leadership to include the operation of a demonstration oyster farm in Virginia beginning in 2000, the production of spat-on-shell for restoration beginning in 2001, and the opening of Oyster Restoration Centers with custom-built planting vessels in Maryland (2002) and Virginia (2006). CBF's oyster restoration program emphasizes citizen involvement, innovation to address restoration challenges, and collaboration with partners.
When not at the office, you'll find Bill fishing on his 28 foot Bertram, "Melrose," named for the Maryland rye whiskey his family produced in Baltimore before Prohibition.
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 During 2010, ORP conducted over 50 outreach events. This unprecedented community support expands our reach to the general public and targeted constituencies to increase awareness of oysters for their economic, ecologic and cultural benefits to the Bay. Events included a visit with students at Eagle Cove School, who have joined the Marylanders Grow Oysters program to help restore this precious resource to the Chesapeake Bay. In mid-September, students learned about oysters while the ORP delivered oysters to the Magothy River. Other recent events included Green Drinks Annapolis, Taste of the Narrows 2010, and the University of Delaware Coast Day. We look forward to seeing you at one of our 2011 events!
--Stephan Abel, Executive Director, ORP |
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (left) and Captain Russell Dize, waterman and Oyster Recovery Partnership board member are at the helm of the Chesapeake Bay Skipjack Nathan of Dorchester County. The Chesapeake Bay Skipjacks are the only commercial oyster fleet still working under sail in the United States. Secretary Vilsack also visited the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point lab in Cambridge, Maryland as part of a tour of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in late September. Secretary Vilsack toured water and soil conservation programs that have become available through the Department of Agriculture. The conservation programs will aid rural communities, farmers and watermen in their efforts to improve the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay. USDA Photo by Bob Nichols.
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Oyster Recovery Partnership Participates in the 2010 St. Mary's Oyster Festival - ORP Partner and International Award-Winning Oyster Shucker George Hastings Wins 3rd Place
 ORP's Shell Recycling Alliance Manager, Bryan Gomes, and ORP partner and international award-winning oyster shucker, George Hastings, represented the Oyster Recovery Partnership at the 44th Annual St. Mary's Oyster Festival. George and Bryan educated the crowd about the ORP's Shell Recycling Alliance which collects recycled oyster shells from restaurants, caterers and seafood wholesalers in the Washington D.C., Baltimore, Annapolis, and Ocean City areas. George was one of the original co-founders that resulted in the establishment of the Shell Recycling Alliance.
One highlight of the weekend is the oyster shucking competition where the fastest men and women shuckers from around the country compete for cash prizes and a trip to Galway, Ireland to compete for the International Oyster Opening title. The contestant who shucks 24 oysters the fastest, wins. Approximately 20 contestants entered Saturday's preliminary competition. From that group, 5 men and 6 women competed for their Division title on Sunday. Mike Martin (men's winner) and Clementine Macon (women's winner) then went head to head for the National Title. Mike only out shucked Clementine by just 3 hundredths of a second! Our own George Hastings came in 3rd overall -- Way to go, George! |
 On September 25, more than 40 Perdue, Inc. associates and family members teamed with residents of Nanticoke, the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP), Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance to participate in the Marylanders Grow Oysters program for the second straight year. Volunteers packed nearly 750 shell bags and filled 214 spat cages with baby oysters that will be raised in
Maryland rivers and streams over the next year as part of the Marylanders Grow Oysters program. |
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Q: How do oysters breathe?
A: Oysters breathe much like fish, using both gills and mantle. The mantle is lined with many small, thin-walled blood vessels which extract oxygen from the water and expel carbon dioxide. A small, three chambered heart, lying under the abductor muscle, pumps colorless blood, with its supply of oxygen, to all parts of the body. At the same time, a pair of kidneys located on the underside of the muscle purify the blood of any waste products it has collected.
--Steven Allen, MSc, Sr. Manager, Aquatic Restoration Program, ORP |
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J.J. McDonnell is partnering with ORP in support of the ORP Shell Recycling Alliance by picking up shell from area restaurants and delivering them to area dumpsters so they can be used as new homes for baby oysters in our Bay.
J.J McDonnell of Baltimore is a leading provider of high-quality seafood to fine restaurants, top caterers, and boutique food stores, with a strong focus on conservation and sustainabililty. J.J. McDonnell's expertise on a wide variety of seafood products, from exotic fish and shellfish to locally sourced and sustainable items, is unsurpassed, as is our commitment to quality and customer service. For more information visit http://www.jjmcdonnell.com.
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  ORP volunteers recently assisted University of Maryland Center for Environmental Studies in conducting an oyster, mussel, and sea squirt survey. Volunteers boarded a waterman's boat to help sort, count, and measure the live Bay critters brought up by patent tongs. Thank you to ORP volunteers Randy Neilson, Mick Blackistone, Rita DuMais, and Melissa Boe. |
Every recycled oyster shell can become home to an average of how many new baby oysters? Read the next issue of The Bay Restorer to learn the answer!
a. 1 b. 6 c. 10 d. 14
Answer from last issue's question: Oysters have typically only been eaten during months that contain the letter R. prior to modern day refrigeration. Today, oysters can be eaten year-round because of present day refrigeration. This old "R" rule is no longer followed, and availability alone now governs when and how oysters may be eaten. In June, oysters spawn, which make them less plump but they are still safe for consumption. This answer was found on Maryland Seafood and Aquaculture. |
| Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Give Back to the Bay with Green Burial | |
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| Oyster Recipes to Benefit the Bay |
 Announcing Oyster Recovery Partnership's new cookbook, Chesapeake Gold. Only $20 (plus shipping and handling), and proceeds from the sale of the cookbook go back into the Bay. Order your copy today!Grilled Choptank Oysters
Ingredients
12 Choptank Oysters
¾ lb South Mountain Creamery Unsalted Butter
1 T Minced Garlic
1 T Fresh Oregano, Chopped
1 T Fresh Thyme, Chopped
1 T Fresh Basil, Chopped
1 T Fresh Chives, Chopped
¼ cup Diced Tomatoes
¼ cup Cheese Blend*
Salt & Pepper to taste
Preparation
*Cheese Blend: Combine equal parts Hendricks Tomme, Hendricks
Swiss, Hawks Hill Garlic Chives, and Pecorino
1. Place butter over medium heat in a small saucepan.
2. Light grill to a medium flame. Shuck oysters and place them on
the half shell on the hot grill. 3. Top with butter-herb blend, allowing butter to spill over the edges of the shell (be cautious of high flames caused by this).
4. Sprinkle each oyster with a pinch of cheese blend; top with
additional melted butter so flames melt the cheese. Once cheese
is melted your oysters are ready. Enjoy! -- Chef Shawn McClure, Ryleigh's Oyster |
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About the Oyster Recovery Partnership | |
Restoring Our Oyster. Cleaning Our Bay. Preserving Our Future.This is the mission of the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) -- a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Annapolis, MD. ORP actively promotes, supports and restores oysters for ecologic and economic purposes. We engage in numerous Chesapeake Bay-related projects by conducting science-based "in-the-water" and "on-the-land" recovery efforts, while conducting public outreach and education in our quest to protect our environment, our heritage, and our knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay, its marshes and rivers, and the life that it sustains.
A copy of our current financial statement is available upon request by contacting the Oyster Recovery Partnership, Inc. at 1805A Virginia Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401 or 410.990.4970. Documents and information submitted to the State of Maryland under the Maryland Charitable Solicitations Act are available from the Office of the Secretary of State for the cost of copying and postage. Oyster Recovery Partnership, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization -- donations to which are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
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