Press Statement

Bay Agreement Revisions Mark Improvements, But Fall Short of Advocates’ Ambitions 

Officials yesterday took an important step toward updating the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, setting the stage for governors and federal leaders to formally recommit this December to Bay restoration goals for the next 15 years.  

Since 1983, the Bay agreement has held together the federal-state Bay restoration partnership. This voluntary accord includes many goals, ranging from fisheries to clean water to land conservation. It has undergone several updates, with the last one signed in 2014. Separately, in 2010 states committed to legally binding goals to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution to the Chesapeake Bay.   

The Bay restoration partnership includes Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, and New York, the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay Commission, and leaders of federal agencies involved in the cleanup.    

Last year, these partners committed to revising the agreement by the end of 2025. Leaders in July released an initial draft of the update that was lacking. This fall, state and federal officials further edited that draft, agreeing to key revisions at an Oct. 28 meeting. The government shutdown limited the participation of most federal partners this month, but the EPA participated using carryover funding.  

The partners are expected to finalize the agreement at a December 2 Chesapeake Executive Council meeting in Baltimore.    

Throughout the process, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) has advocated for a strong agreement that:  

The latest version has notable improvements over the July draft. Those include a uniform deadline of 2040, as well as a 2033 midpoint check in that offers a chance to adapt to the latest science. It also now reaffirms the legally-binding pollution reductions states must meet.   

• Affirms state commitments to meet legally required pollution reductions;   
• Provides accountability with a uniform deadline across goals and a midpoint assessment; and, 
• Factors in growing challenges from climate change.  

The agreement is still not as ambitious as what CBF and other advocates have called for. However, it remains critical that all state and federal partners commit to it. A lack of an agreement this year risks disintegrating the unparalleled decades-long partnership working for a healthier Chesapeake Bay.   

Because pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed flows across state lines, states and the federal government must work together toward shared goals to see progress. Maintaining a strong partnership can lead to exceeding original goals—such as when Bay restoration partners recently announced the successful restoration of 11 rivers for oyster habitat.   

CBF Senior Policy Director Keisha Sedlacek issued the following statement.   

“This agreement isn’t perfect, but it is essential. For decades, we’ve seen time and again that progress only comes when we work together toward shared goals.  

“The Bay restoration movement could have easily fizzled out in the current climate of division and uncertainty. Instead, everyone worked to find common ground, creating a vision for the next 15 years.    

“We’re grateful for the leadership of Maryland Governor Wes Moore as chair of the Chesapeake Executive Council, as well as steps taken by Virginia and Pennsylvania toward a stronger agreement.” 

“This December, the Bay states and federal partners must come together and formally renew their promise to restore the Bay, guided by the revised agreement. We will keep advocating for the policies, investments, and science to exceed goals for a healthy Bay—and hold leaders accountable if they fall short.”   

Chesapeake Bay Menhaden Reform on the Horizon

Reacting to a new assessment that shows the menhaden population is significantly weaker than previously thought, fisheries regulators yesterday took a minor step to reduce the coastwide menhaden fishing quota along the Atlantic.  

The action took place at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) annual meeting in Dewey Beach, Delaware. After a series of competing motions, the ASMFC’s Menhaden Management Board adopted a 20 percent quota reduction for the 2026 fishing season. It put off adopting quotas for 2027 and 2028 until its next annual meeting in the fall of 2026.

This comes on the heels of an assessment ASMFC released earlier this month, which found that the menhaden population is 37 percent lower along the Atlantic Coast than previously thought. The ASMFC menhaden stock assessments resulted in forecasts indicating the need for a 54 percent cut to the menhaden harvest to meet the needs of predators like striped bass, osprey, and marine mammals.   

Menhaden are a small fish that are an important food for many species. These fish are also the target of a major industrial reduction fishery concentrated in Virginia’s portion of Chesapeake Bay, where warning signs linked to menhaden are growing.   

Menhaden are not making it to Maryland waters like they once did. Since 2017, Maryland has been unable to harvest even half of its small quota. In 2024, Maryland harvested less than 10 percent of its menhaden quota. The decline in local menhaden is directly impacting Maryland’s crab fishery due to increased bait costs, putting increased economic strain on Maryland watermen.  

Additionally, osprey chicks are starving at unprecedented rates in parts of the Bay where menhaden are traditionally a staple of the bird’s diet, according to new research. Data also shows plummeting menhaden catches in Maryland and Virginia by local watermen who harvest the fish for bait—a much smaller separate fishery than the massive industrial reduction operation.   

The new ASMFC assessments consider the menhaden population along the entire coast, from Maine to Florida. However, they do not specifically consider the effects of concentrating the menhaden fishery in and around the Chesapeake Bay, where science remains “woefully inadequate,” according to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.   

This week the ASMFC also initiated the process to develop new options to manage the menhaden reduction fishery in the Chesapeake Bay. The addendum will include options that consider potential reductions to the Chesapeake Bay menhaden reduction harvest, as well as distributing the harvest more evenly throughout the season.  

Fishery managers will develop those options over the coming months, and the Menhaden Management Board could approve this addendum for public comment at the February 2026 ASMFC Meeting.   

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Forage Campaign Manager Will Poston issued the following statement: 

“This is nothing more than a performative nod to ecosystem-based fisheries management. The ASMFC failed to fully respond to the science, jeopardizing the ability of menhaden to fulfill their role in the food chain. This lack of meaningful action is not only risky for menhaden, but also the many fisheries and small businesses that depend on a thriving ecosystem.  

“In a bright spot, the ASMFC did launch a longer process to address menhaden concerns in the Chesapeake Bay. We will continue working with our partners and the ASMFC to advocate for strong protections for menhaden in the Bay.”  

Groups cite severe public health risks, environmental justice concerns, $88.5 million in annual health costs, and conflict with Virginia’s clean energy goals  

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) joined with the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) to submit formal comments to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on October 23 urging the agency to deny a draft air permit for Dominion Energy’s proposed new fossil fuel power plant in Chesterfield County.  

The organizations argue that the new large-scale fossil fuel-fired power plant poses a grave threat to the health of nearby communities, where existing industry and minority populations create environmental justice concerns. The project threatens clean water, the health of the Chesapeake Bay, and directly undermines the Commonwealth’s commitment to clean energy. 

Dominion plans to construct the Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center, a 944-megawatt fossil fuel-fired plant in Chesterfield County. It represents a massive new source of air pollution for a community already overburdened by industrial facilities and associated harmful emissions. 

The proposed facility would emit pollutants including nitrogen oxides (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). There is no safe level of exposure to PM2.5, which is linked to premature death, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and other serious health conditions. 

An expert health analysis projects that CERC’s pollution could cause an average of 6.7 premature deaths and more than 14,600 illnesses every year in the region. The annual health costs from these emissions are estimated at $88.5 million, a financial burden that would be borne by surrounding communities. 

While the State Corporation Commission is currently deliberating Dominion’s application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, Dominion must also still obtain an air permit from DEQ. The DEQ has independent authority to deny the permit and prevent construction.  

At a September 23 hearing, CBF and partners presented evidence that CERC is both unnecessary for energy demands and a direct threat to public health and the environment. 

Taylor Lilley, Environmental Justice Staff Attorney with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, issued the following statement: 

“Independent expert analyses have shown the scope and cost of the health and environmental dangers that the community will face should this project move forward. DEQ should weigh these serious risks to both the public and the environment. Building this facility would only compound the burden borne by communities that have suffered from exposure to harmful emissions for generations.”  

“Dominion has attempted to downplay the impacts of this proposal—a danger to the community’s right to breathe clean air and secure a healthy future—by relying on flawed analysis. CBF will continue to advocate for clean energy solutions that meet Virginia’s energy needs without sacrificing the health of its communities or the environment.” 

Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) experts urged the Trump administration to continue funding critical research and grant programs, remove barriers to managing invasive blue catfish, and promote shellfish exports to Europe in comments filed yesterday with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 

In August, NMFS requested input on fisheries regulations, management, science, and other priorities identified in the White House’s April executive order “Restoring America’s Seafood Competitiveness.”

The Chesapeake Bay is home to more than 348 species of finfish and 173 shellfish and a key driver our region’s economy. According to the NMFS 2022 report on U.S. fisheries, the seafood industry in Maryland and Virginia contributed $7.9 billion in sales, $1.8 million in income, and more than 60 thousand jobs to the regional economy. 

Yet the Trump administration has targeted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which houses NMFS, for massive budget cuts and staff reductions that threaten to devastate efforts to restore the Bay and strengthen its climate restoration efforts. 

CBF specifically recommended that the administration: 

• Continue funding NOAA grant programs that support waterfront communities, build the next generation of American watermen, and conduct research that benefits aquaculture and other fisheries. 
• Keep funding NOAA’s work to identify the cause of Sudden, Unusual Mortality Syndrome (SUMS) in farmed oysters, a major threat to expanding oyster aquaculture on the East and Gulf coasts. This research will allow oyster growers and scientists to forecast conditions and rear more resilient oysters in hatcheries. 
• Rescind federal seafood processing regulations that have stymied the commercial harvest of blue catfish, an invasive non-native species and voracious predator that threatens the Bay’s valuable blue crab and striped bass fisheries. 
• Preserve NOAA’s critical work tracking and evaluating weather and ocean conditions, water quality, and how climate change is affecting commercial fisheries.  
• Expand access to the European Union (EU) shellfish market, which under EU food safety regulations is only open to exports from Massachusetts and Washington. The export market represents a critical opportunity for many Bay region shellfish producers, many of which are family-owned businesses. 

 CBF Federal Policy Coordinator Annabelle Harvey issued the following statement: 

“From blue crabs to oysters to striped bass, the Chesapeake Bay’s fisheries power this region’s economy and define its identity. It’s essential that NOAA has the resources and tools to restore the fisheries habitats and species that make the Bay one of the most productive estuaries in the country. 

“CBF urges the Trump administration to invest in NOAA research, data collection, and grants that promote the long-term viability of Bay fisheries and coastal communities; rescind needless regulatory barriers to managing invasive blue catfish; and work on opening the European market to our shellfish producers.

“We appreciate the opportunity to share our ideas for improving fisheries management and science. Our fisheries and policy experts stand ready to help achieve these important goals.” 

CBF urges ASMFC to take strong action now to rebuild this critical fishery

The future of Chesapeake Bay’s striped bass population continues to be in peril, as seen by today’s results from Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s annual juvenile striped bass survey. For the seventh consecutive year in Maryland and fourth consecutive year in Virginia, young striped bass numbers are well below the long-term average. 

This annual survey estimates striped bass recruitment, which includes reproductive success and early survival rates, and offers a window into the future of adult striped bass numbers. Consistent, record-low levels of recruitment, combined with past overfishing of striped bass, are extremely concerning for the iconic species.

Not enough young fish are surviving the many challenges in the region, including warmer water temperatures, food availability, and invasive predators like blue catfish. That means far fewer fish will grow up to become large, adult trophy fish that anglers seek in the Bay and are extremely important to rebuilding the population. This could delay or jeopardize rebuilding the striped bass population by the 2029 target—a goal set by fisheries managers at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). 

According to the survey, the 2025 young-of-year index for Maryland was 4.0 fish per sample. This is slightly higher than last year’s index of 2.0, but significantly lower than the state’s long-term average of 11.0. In Virginia, the index was 5.12 fish per sample. This is slightly higher than last year’s index of 3.43, but still below the state’s historic average of 7.77. 

To address concerns for striped bass, ASMFC is currently considering stronger protections for the species. At their next meeting on October 29, ASMFC’s Striped Bass Management Board will vote to approve Addendum III—a response to the 2024 striped bass stock assessment and recommendations made by ASMFC’s Technical Committee. The analysis determined that striped bass are overfished, and that without additional action, it’s unlikely the species will rebuild to their target numbers by 2029. 

To help increase the likelihood that we’re able to rebuild the striped bass fishery, Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) urges ASMFC to adopt the protective measures laid out in Addendum III. Immediate, strong action is needed if we want a chance to rebuild the striped bass fishery by 2029. 

Allison Colden, CBF Maryland Executive Director, issued the following statement: 

“This annual survey gives us an important sneak peek into the status of the striped bass population in Chesapeake Bay. And for nearly a decade that picture’s been bleak.” 

“This alarming trend could seriously jeopardize our chances of rebuilding the striped bass stock to the target level. CBF urges ASMFC to take strong action now to protect this iconic Bay species and rebuild by the end of this decade.” 

Chris Moore, CBF Virginia Executive Director, issued the following statement: 

“This year’s results make it clear that rebuilding the striped bass population is not guaranteed. We’ve advocated for a host of actions over the years to get striped bass back on the right track. We need to do more to ensure striped bass can reproduce and young can grow up, both through both habitat improvements and fisheries management actions. 

“We urge ASMFC not to delay and take action now to help this iconic species. There’s just too much at stake.” 

Today, in a long-awaited win for water quality, Governor Wes Moore announced a $341 million settlement with Constellation Energy, the owner of Conowingo Dam. The settlement will support water quality and debris removal in the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay.

For decades, Conowingo Dam has inadequately managed pollution accumulating from the Susquehanna River, which is the source of about half of the Chesapeake Bay’s fresh water. The dam alters when and how pollution reaches the Bay. However, the reservoir that traps sediment and nutrient pollution has been at capacity for years. Large storms, which are getting more severe and frequent from climate change, cause overflows that scour pollutants from behind the dam right into the Bay, fueling algal blooms and threatening marine life.

After immense public concern and multiple legal challenges, a $200 million settlement was reached in 2019 between the dam’s operator and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) in which the state attempted to waive the water quality certification for the dam. Environmental groups and concerned citizens believed the agreement was insufficient and did little to prevent pollution, since it allowed Constellation to avoid most water quality improvements required by the state.

In response to these concerns, in 2021, Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), Waterkeepers Chesapeake, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, and ShoreRivers challenged a 50-year permit for the dam to operate. The groups believed Maryland could not waive the dam’s water quality certification, and that Constellation’s license should require them to mitigate the water quality impacts of the dam. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed, and the Waterkeepers, Riverkeeper, MDE, and Constellation returned to the negotiating table.

The updated settlement will require tangible investments in Susquehanna River water quality such as restoring mussel populations via a new hatchery, combatting invasive species, improving fish passage, and studying the viability of dredging sediment trapped by the dam.

CBF President & CEO Hilary Harp Falk issued the following statement: 

“This is a keystone moment for the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay. Accountability is what got us here and will be key to carrying out the terms of the settlement and ensuring its tangible water quality benefits. This was a decades long fight, and there’s still work to be done. 

“Pennsylvania holds a key role in a healthier Bay. Their continued leadership alongside Governor Moore will be crucial. Pollution doesn’t respect state lines. That’s why everyone must work together to see real progress. 

“We are thankful to the Waterkeepers, Riverkeeper, and the Moore-Miller Administration for their leadership in Bay clean up and for holding Constellation accountable with this settlement. Those who rely on a clean Bay for their work, enjoyment, and health will be better off because of it.” 

Scientific Warnings Compounded by Overwhelming Public Support for Ending Large-Scale Menhaden Fishing in the Bay

New research released this week by the Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) at William & Mary warns of a widespread osprey population decline in the Bay, providing evidence that reduced food availability is placing significant stress on the Chesapeake Bay’s osprey population. 

The report confirms a critical environmental reality: osprey aren’t successfully reproducing in saltier waters around the Chesapeake, reflecting a severe lack of food in the Bay’s waters. Menhaden are an important food for osprey in the Bay’s saltier waters.  

• Unsustainable Productivity: In the vast majority of the Bay—waters with a salinity greater than 5 ppt (covering over 80% of the tidal surface)—ospreys produced an average of only 0.33 young per pair. This rate is significantly below the minimum threshold of 0.8 young per pair required to sustain the population. 
• Food Stress is Primary Cause: Direct observations during nest visits point to the loss of young, primarily due to starvation and subsequent brood reduction, as the major contributing factor to nest failure. This outcome strongly indicates insufficient local food availability in areas where the osprey diet relies on forage fish like menhaden. 
• Bay-Wide Decline Predicted: The level of reproduction around the Bay’s tributaries isn’t enough to make up for the crisis along saltier waters where the majority of nests are located. With 7.5 times more nesting pairs located in the high-salinity deficit areas, the Bay-wide osprey population is not self-sustaining and is predicted to decline sharply if these trends continue. 

These scientific warnings are compounded by other escalating signs, including a decline in menhaden catches by local watermen who harvest them for bait. The Virginia reported menhaden bait harvest dropped from 5.4 million pounds in 2019 to less than 1 million pounds in 2024, according to data from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.  The sustained operations of the industrial menhaden reduction fishery of Omega Protein harvest more than 100 million pounds of menhaden annually in Virginia’s portion of the Bay. 

A recent, bipartisan poll of Virginia voters, commissioned by CBF, confirms overwhelming public support for regulatory reform: 

• 92 percent of Virginia voters believe the state should leave more menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay to support the ecosystem. 
• 79 percent support ending large-scale commercial menhaden fishing in the Bay until science can demonstrate that the harvest level is compatible with a healthy ecosystem. 

This level of consensus across party lines, age, and geography signals a clear public mandate for change. 

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Forage Campaign Manager Will Poston issued the following statement:  

“Alarm bells are still ringing up and down the Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately, 2025 was another year during which scientists saw osprey chicks starving in nests along the saltier waters where they traditionally depend on menhaden for food.  

“An overwhelming majority of Virginians want action to leave more menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay is changing, and the science remains woefully inadequate. Virginia should pause industrial menhaden fishing in the Chesapeake Bay until science can show whether this fishery is sustainable. At the same time, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission should heed the results of the latest menhaden stock assessment to help ensure there are enough menhaden to fulfill their role in the ecosystem.”   

Analysis Shows Dominion Can Meet Customer Needs Without Building Gas Plant

The proposed Dominion gas plant in Chesterfield is a threat to the health of people and the environment in the surrounding community, according to testimony filed by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Southern Environmental Law Center before the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) during a September 23 hearing.  

One of Dominion’s first steps toward securing the necessary approvals to construct and operate the proposed facility has been to apply for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) from the SCC. Before granting a CPCN, the SCC must consider two things: whether the proposal will have an adverse effect on rates paid by customers or on the reliability of electric service. They must also consider whether the project would be otherwise contrary to the public interest. 

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation filed expert testimony before the SCC demonstrating that Dominion Energy’s proposed 944-megawatt Chesterfield gas plant is unnecessary and a threat to the health and safety of nearby residents and surrounding environment.  

The maximum health burdens are concentrated southeast of the facility where existing industry and minority populations create environmental justice concerns, according to the testimony. 

The new facility, which would sit just north of the Dutch Gap Conservation Area, has the potential to emit 353 tons per year of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 153 tons per year of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). 

Exposure to the plant’s continued emissions could potentially cost local residents $88.5 million annually in healthcare costs. 

The analysis also challenges Dominion’s argument that the plant should be exempt from Virginia law due to a purported threat to system reliability.  

Virginia law prohibits the construction of new carbon-emitting facilities unless a demonstrated “threat to system reliability” exists. The project is projected to cost ratepayers over $8 billion over its lifetime. 

Dominion claims that the facility is necessary to meet increasing energy demands in the Commonwealth of Virginia, but CBF argues that Dominion’s analysis employs unreasonable, misleading assumptions and a failure to consider alternative solutions to meet load growth, such as grid scale batteries that wouldn’t pollute communities. 

Taylor Lilley, Environmental Justice Staff Attorney with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, issued the following statement: 

“It’s important for the record to reflect the full scale of environmental and public health realities that residents will face if this facility is allowed to be constructed. The commission must consider these threats to people and environmental health. If constructed, this facility would exacerbate the burdens of a community that has already endured decades of emissions. 

“Using misleading assumptions and faulty analysis, Dominion has tried to obscure this project for what it really is: an avoidable threat to a community’s right to clean air and a healthy future.” 

Marylanders can join Sept. 22 and 23 meetings and submit comments by Oct. 3

After years of alarming red flags for striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) is currently considering new harvest restrictions for the iconic fish. Maryland residents can learn more and voice their concerns at several upcoming in-person or virtual hearing options and submit comments to ASMFC by Oct. 3. 

The draft plan, known as Addendum III, is a response to the 2024 striped bass stock assessment and recommendations made by ASMFC’s Technical Committee. The analysis determined that, without additional restrictions for striped bass, it’s unlikely the species will rebuild to their target numbers by 2029. The addendum includes over 40 regulatory options for both recreational and commercial fisheries across the entire Atlantic Coast intended to promote striped bass recovery. 

The striped bass population is currently classified as overfished. ASMFC, which manages the striped bass fishery, has enacted numerous regulatory changes since 2019 to help the stock rebuild. However, rebuilding by the ten-year goal is in jeopardy. Fisheries regulators are seeking public input as they consider additional changes. 

Considering the Chesapeake Bay has historically produced 70% to 90% of the coast’s striped bass and has experienced six consecutive years of poor spawning success, there’s an immediate need for additional conservation. Striped bass are not only an iconic species in the Bay, but they support beloved and robust recreational and commercial fishing industries. 

In order for striped bass to meet at least a 50% probability of rebuilding by 2029, we must prioritize the species’ protection. That includes limiting harvest pressure in the Bay and along the coast via ASMFC action, as well as addressing other environmental factors affecting striped bass such as warming water temperatures from climate change, habitat loss, invasive blue catfish, and forage fish availability. 

CBF encourages members of the public to speak up for striped bass during this period. Key dates from ASMFC include: 

• Maryland in-person hearing: Monday, Sept. 22 at 6 pm in Wye Mills at Chesapeake College 
• Maryland in-person hearing: Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 5:30 pm in Annapolis at the Michael E. Busch Public Library 
• DC and Potomac River virtual hearing: Thursday, Sept. 25 at 6 pm 
• General Virtual Hearing: Monday, Sept. 29 at 6 pm 
• ASMFC public comment deadline: Friday, Oct. 3 

More details can be found here. 

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Maryland Executive Director Allison Colden issued the following statement: 

“We’ve relied on half-measures to address striped bass red flags for long enough. All the science we have available is telling us to take action now or risk the long-term viability of this fishery. We must all do our part today if we want striped bass to sustain future generations.” 

Today at a celebratory event in Annapolis, dozens of environmental partners marked a major milestone for oyster restoration in Chesapeake Bay. Totaling roughly 2,000 acres of habitat restored, this effort is considered the largest oyster restoration initiative in the world. 

The 2014 Chesapeake Bay Agreement—a joint federal and state plan to restore the Bay—outlined a key goal for partners to fully restore 10 Bay tributaries for oyster habitat by the end of 2025. That goal was officially exceeded earlier this summer. 

The now-restored tributaries include Maryland’s Manokin, Harris Creek, Little Choptank, Tred Avon, St. Mary’s rivers, and Virginia’s Lynnhaven, Lafayette, Piankatank, Great Wicomico, Lower York, and Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth rivers. The Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River is considered Virginia’s sixth ‘bonus’ tributary, bringing the total to 11 rivers restored, exceeding the initial goal. 

Most of these reefs are meeting or greatly exceeding goals for oyster abundance. Not only are oysters a keystone species in the Bay, but they create habitat for other animals and naturally filter the water. A single adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons a day. 

To continue this exciting momentum, Maryland DNR has already committed to fully restoring an additional three tributaries for oyster restoration in Maryland. Governor Wes Moore is chair of the Chesapeake Executive Council—the bipartisan federal-state Chesapeake Bay restoration partnership. The council includes Governors from all six Chesapeake Bay watershed states including Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and federal partners including the Environmental Protection Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

This summer, members of the community had the opportunity to submit feedback on an updated Chesapeake Bay Agreement, which the Council is currently reviewing. CBF urges the updated agreement to accelerate the scale and pace of oyster restoration, including an additional 2,400 acres of oyster sanctuary reef by 2035.  

CBF also urges Congress to fully fund the oyster restoration work of key federal partners like NOAA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and reject provisions in the House Appropriations Committee’s bill for NOAA, which could open oyster sanctuaries to commercial fishing and cut off funding to restore underperforming sanctuaries.  

These bipartisan, partner-driven efforts will be key for the continued success of oyster restoration in the Bay. 

CBF Maryland Executive Director, Allison Colden, issued the following statement: 

“Chesapeake Bay oyster restoration is a shining success story. In Maryland alone, the oyster population has tripled since 2005. Building on that success, Maryland DNR has already started its work toward the next oyster restoration goal.  

“As we move forward, we know that this large-scale effort has created a strong foundation for the oyster’s comeback. It also shows us there is hope for the Bay to bounce back in ways no one thought was possible. We must continue to use this model of collaborative, targeted restoration across the Bay’s vast, bipartisan partnership. 

“We applaud the leadership of Governor Wes Moore and DNR Secretary Josh Kurtz as we continue defining the future of Bay saving. And we are eager to continue work with our federal partners and neighboring states so all can benefit from the power of oysters.”