Virginia Legislators Enjoy Oysters and Support Clean Water
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) hosted the annual event, which featured a perennial oyster eating contest among legislators along with educational materials showcasing the work of CBF.
“This is one of my biggest wins of the session so far,” said Del. Phil “The Pearl” Hernandez, the 2026 Oyster Eating Champion.
Hernandez wrested the championship belt away from Del. Shelly Simonds. Simonds and Del. Michael Webert, the previous year’s winner, presented Hernandez with the belt on the House floor.
For her part Del. Simonds said she loved the energy at the event.
“We’re just trying to draw attention to this bountiful product of the Chesapeake Bay and celebrate one of our most important marine products and just really make sure all the legislators are engaged and here for it,” Simonds said.
Webert offered that he tends to like oysters “that have a bit more brine to them.”
“It’s more (that) we bring some notoriety to the Bay and the work that we’ve done, the good work that we have yet to do,” said Del. Webert, before pointing out Del. Wendell Walker helping serve oysters at one station nearby.
Four oyster growers from throughout the Bay served oysters at the event: Sapidus Farms, Oyster Catcher Sea Farms, Big Island Aquaculture, and HM Terry.
CBF has tracked the addition of more than eight billion oysters in the Bay since 2017.
“We like to count the oysters planted by all different entities—whether it’s watermen, academia, nonprofits, state-federal efforts. It all gets celebrated under one umbrella of a big common goal,” said Jackie Shannon, Virginia Oyster Restoration Manager at CBF.
“We love to see people enjoying the bounty of the Bay.”
Shells from the event will be used in restoration efforts; recycled shells are used to grow new baby oysters.
The revised Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, approved in December, calls for the restoration or conservation of least 2,000 additional acres of oyster reef habitat, concentrated primarily in restoration focus areas to provide ecosystem service benefits.
Oysters help clean the water, stabilize shorelines, and provide habitat for other marine life. Under the right conditions, an adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day. Their rebounding population, a product of comprehensive restoration efforts and wise fishery management, is a positive sign for the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay, though much work remains to be done.
