The Chesapeake Bay Program announced this week that it is on track to achieve a goal set more than a decade ago for restoring native oyster reefs.
The massive partnership of states and nonprofits said it is successfully reviving reefs across 10 major tributaries of the bay in Maryland and Virginia, including the York and Lynnhaven rivers.
Overall, projects in the past decade added nearly 2,300 acres of oyster habitats, or about 1,340 football fields’ worth, according to a news release.
“We are incredibly pleased to have not only met, but exceeded, our oyster restoration goal," Virginia Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources Stefanie Taillon said in a statement. "These results are a tremendous example of the power of a voluntary, partnership-driven approach to achieving a vibrant and healthy Chesapeake Bay.”
The oyster restoration target was one of 31 set by the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. Others outline benchmarks for reducing pollution and boosting wetlands and fish habitats.
The agreement set a voluntary deadline of 2025 for states to comply. Officials say the bay partnership will not meet about a third of those goals by the end of this year.
Oyster reefs were once so prevalent in the bay that English colonists complained about having to navigate ships around them.
In the centuries since, the population plummeted because of development, erosion, overharvesting, pollution and wetland loss.
Scientists say revitalizing oysters to historic levels is key to a healthy bay because they help clean the water, protect shorelines, store carbon underwater and serve as habitat for other marine critters.
Ongoing oyster restoration in Hampton Roads includes a project by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation adding 10 acres of reefs in the Hampton River, and efforts by the Nature Conservancy planting reefs to prevent erosion along the Eastern Shore.
Officials typically use recycled oyster shells as a hard surface for baby oysters, known as spat, to attach to and grow.
Meanwhile, leaders across the watershed are working on a new version of the 2014 agreement.
Officials say they want to place a greater emphasis on engaging communities around the bay and adapting to climate change.
A draft of the proposed agreement is open for public feedback through September 1. The Bay Program plans to present a revised draft to its management board in October.
