History

The Chesapeake Bay oyster industry was the envy of the world until the oyster stock collapsed nearly 50 years ago because of disease, habitat loss, declining water quality and historic over-harvesting.

In the summer of 1993, the state of Maryland convened the Oyster Roundtable, a coalition of 40 organizations, institutions, elected officials, businesses and individuals, to address the major concerns about oyster stocks in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay and formulate a plan for promoting recovery. Roundtable members reached a consensus and published an action plan for oyster recovery in Maryland. The plan had three major objectives: 

    1) to maximize and enhance the ecological benefits of oysters;
    2) to maximize and enhance the economic benefits derived from harvesting in the public and private oyster fisheries; and 
    3) to maximize the ability of government to respond effectively to the problem.

 

Another outcome of the action plan was the creation of the Oyster Recovery Partnership. In 1994, the mission of Chesapeake Appreciation, Inc, a Maryland based 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization created in 1972, was expanded to implement the objectives of the Oyster Roundtable Action Plan and coordinate efforts of the diverse group of program partners. The new organization established, built and strengthened cooperative oyster restoration efforts among state and federal governmental agencies, scientists, watermen and conservation organizations, resulting in a coordinated, focused and highly effective restoration program.

 

The Oyster Recovery Partnership works with individual experts and management agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Army Corps of Engineers and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, to assist with the monumental task of oyster restoration, monitoring and adaptive management.  These experts include scientists from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science who have substantially increased oyster hatchery production, environmental organizations such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Maryland watermen, who have the necessary boats, equipment and knowledge of the Bay to bring local experience and expertise to our projects.

Since 1994, the Partnership has steadily built its oyster recovery capabilities and capacity. As a result, the Oyster Recovery Partnership and its coalition of partners have planted more than 1.6 billion oysters on 1,100 acres, a majority of which are permanently protected and managed. Production output has increased from 15 million oysters per year to a record 525 million disease-free spat on shell in 2008.  

In 2009, the Oyster Advisory Commission, a group of 21 scientists, watermen, anglers, businessmen, economists, environmental advocates and elected officials convened by the Governor of Maryland in 2007 to advise the state on matters relating to oysters and strategies for rebuilding and managing the oyster population in Maryland's portion of the Chesapeake Bay, released its 2008 Legislative Report. The report builds upon the knowledge and restoration successes of the past and offers a multi-faceted strategy for restoring the Chesapeake’s native oyster population and revitalizing Maryland’s troubled oyster industry. The report utilizes the latest findings of an Environmental Impact Statement currently being drafted with other state and federal government partners to evaluate oyster restoration options for the Chesapeake Bay.