Four years ago, we proposed a bold plan with better choices to rebuild our oyster population, its vital ecological functions and the thriving industry it once supported. Last week we gathered with stakeholders, scientists, partners and citizen stewards at the Annapolis Maritime Museum to celebrate the significant progress we've made under that plan.

Adopted in 2010, the Oyster Restoration and Aquaculture Development Plan was designed to help restore the Chesapeake Bay's native oyster population, create new jobs and encourage economic activity in Maryland.  Among our recent successes, the State and its partners produced and planted a record 1.25 billion native baby oysters (spat) in Maryland this year ─ the first time any hatchery in the nation has produced more than one billion Eastern oyster spat in a single season.

Led by the team at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Oyster Hatchery, this effort was supported by State, federal and private partners. As a result, 750 million of those baby oysters were planted at our Harris Creek Sanctuary, which, at 377 acres, is the largest, most comprehensive restoration effort of its kind on the East Coast.  The balance supplied aquaculture businesses, citizen growers and a program that trains watermen to produce seed.

Restoring our native oyster to the Chesapeake Bay is one of the biggest natural resources challenges of our time.  With the commitment and hard work of hundreds of public and private partners, we are more optimistic than ever that it will be possible to rebuild this population.

Sincerely,