Chesapeake Oyster Alliance
The Chesapeake Oyster Alliance was a multi-year effort designed to spark governmental action, public attention, and funding to accelerate ongoing oyster restoration efforts in the Chesapeake Bay. The ambitious goal of this collaborative effort was to add 10 billion new oysters by 2025 in Virginia and Maryland waters.
The coalition of diverse organizations committed to making the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance stretch goal a reality included a range of local and regional conservation groups, aquaculturists and watermen, and other businesses from Maryland and Virginia.
Also playing a key role in the restoration of Chesapeake oysters were management agencies such as the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, and federal agencies that provide funding for oyster restoration—the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE)—and corporate and private funders.
The key components of the effort included:
Restoring oysters in sanctuaries—Through the 2014 Bay Watershed Agreement, Maryland and Virginia committed to restoring 10 Bay tributaries by 2025. That goal was exceeded in the summer of 2025.
Improving science-based fishery management—Because more than 75 percent of the Bay’s oyster bottom is open to commercial harvest, promoting science-based fishery management of these reefs is essential.
Increasing oyster aquaculture—Oyster aquaculture provides economic opportunity for the Bay’s coastal communities while helping protect the Bay’s wild shellfish resources and providing filtration and habitat benefits.
The Chesapeake Bay’s restoration has the potential to be the most dramatic example of environmental recovery ever seen. By every measure, the Bay is healthier than it was even five years ago. Now it is time to finish the job. The Chesapeake Oyster Alliance played a key role in restoring the health of this national treasure.
