CBF provides the spat-on-shell to its oyster gardeners and plants them in rivers and the Bay to grow and expand oyster reefs.įor information on local shell recycling locations and participating restaurants, please visit our Save Oyster Shells web page.
![oyster spat shell oyster spat shell](https://live.staticflickr.com/6085/6071329419_1010cccb93.jpg)
On average, each recycled shell can become home to dozens of those baby oysters, called spat. Once the recycled shells are cleaned and cured, CBF places them in huge water tanks containing millions of microscopic oyster larvae, which then attach to the shells. We turn 2,000 bushels of recycled oyster shells each year into habitat for millions of oysters planted in the Bay and its rivers. Through CBF's Save Oyster Shell recycling program, individuals and restaurants donate empty shells to be used in a variety of oyster restoration projects. Oyster shells are literally the foundation of our reef restoration efforts, but they are becoming increasingly scarce. And so many oysters were pulled out of the. They grew in reefs big enough to be obstacles to boats and became one of the crops that defined the area. Not so long ago the Chesapeake overflowed with oysters. Find out more about oyster gardening and how you can become a gardener in Maryland, Baltimore, and Virginia. A shell can hold up to 10 baby oysters - that’s a lot of new wild oysters from one farm raised half shell. Hundreds of community members in Maryland and Virginia grow oysters alongside their docks and then help CBF plant them on sanctuary reefs. Help rebuild the Chesapeake Bay's oyster population by becoming an oyster gardener. Virginia Mobile Oyster Restoration Center Oyster Gardening The spat grow into adult oysters in this natural setting and can form dense oyster beds over time. As the larvae permanently attach to oyster shell in climate-controlled tanks, they are known as ‘spat.’ The spat-on-shell then can be deployed in sounds. The Bay's native oyster population has been estimated at as low as one percent of historic levels, making restoration critical to help improve the Bay’s water quality and increase its economic viability. Spat-on-shell culturing allows oysters to be started as larvae in a nursery setting. Oyster reefs also provide habitat for fish, crabs, and other Bay organisms. Oyster sticks are another method of traditional seed collection in the wild as well as in hatcheries. These oyster beds are most often situated in an intertidal zone to prevent fouling and strengthen the abductor muscles of the oysters.
![oyster spat shell oyster spat shell](https://www.topsoysters.com/assets/page-content/_resampled/ResizedImageWzQ2NywzNTBd/20140530-134723-submerged-longline-oysters.jpg)
Ecologically, native oysters are equally important: they filter algae, sediment, and other pollutants. Over time, spat (oyster seed) settle on the empty oyster shells, maturing to a harvestable size. Historically, Chesapeake oysters were the Bay's most valuable fishery. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation recognizes that saving the Bay is uniquely tied to restoring the native oyster, Crassostrea virginica.