RESTORE - Oyster Restoration
CBF's oyster restoration program provides citizens with the tools and information needed to help restore native oysters to the Chesapeake. Until the 1980s, oysters supported the most valuable fishery in the Bay. Today, as a result of decades of pollution, overharvesting, and disease, the Bay's native oyster population is only about 2 percent of historic levels. Yet oysters remain a keystone species in the Bay's ecology.
Oysters form large reefs that provide habitat for a wide range of marine plants and animals. In addition, they feed by filtering microscopic plants from the water, and in the process improve water quality and clarity.
Rebuilding reefs and stocking them with oysters is a high priority for the Bay. It is a long-term process that will require the participation and commitment of federal and state agencies and citizens alike for many years.
Learn more about CBF's oyster restoration programs:
Watch oyster gardening in action with this video from NBC
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