Maryland plans to add three new oyster restoration sites in the Chesapeake Bay over the next few years.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has identified its next three oyster restoration sites: Herring Bay, near southern Anne Arundel County; the Nanticoke River, on the southern portion of the Eastern Shore; and Hoopers Strait, near Dorchester County.
“These three large-scale restoration sanctuaries represent a new chapter for oyster restoration in Maryland,” Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz said in a statement. “We’ve had tremendous success with our existing restoration sanctuaries, and we’re excited to build on that achievement and keep up the momentum for oyster recovery in the Chesapeake Bay.”
The department has completed restoration at four oyster sanctuary sites, and is on schedule to finish work in the Manokin River – the last of its “big five” sanctuary sites – in 2025.
The three new sites were identified based on recommended considerations by the Oyster Advisory Commission, including the ability to support a self-sustaining oyster population, economic efficiency, and different salinity zones to reduce risk of disease.
“Together, these three restoration sanctuaries will strengthen the diversity of Maryland’s sanctuary program,” DNR Fishing and Boating Services Director Lynn Fegley said in a statement. “With new projects on both the Western and the Eastern Shore, as well as the mid- and lower Bay, we’re helping to spread out disease risk and increase the oyster broodstock across all areas of the Chesapeake Bay.”
Oysters filter water and help support the region’s economy. But due to overharvesting, disease, and the deterioration of habitats and water quality, Eastern oyster populations continue to be significantly lower than their historic levels.
DNR hopes to restore the region’s oyster populations through these sanctuaries, which allow oysters to grow without the threat of harvesting, except on aquaculture lease sites.
To date, Maryland has more than 1,000 acres of restoration oyster reefs – bigger than 800 football fields. The state set a new annual record for oyster spat plantings last year, with more than 1.7 billion new juvenile oysters planted on Chesapeake Bay sanctuary and public oyster fishery sites in 2023.
DNR expects the Hoopers Strait site will be similar in size to the state’s three largest restoration sites–Harris Creek, Little Choptank, and Manokin River–which range from 348 to 455 acres.
The Herring Bay site could be larger, which could make it the state’s largest restoration site yet.
The site on the Nanticoke River is expected to be smaller, about 175 acres. Work on that sanctuary is slated to start in the spring and summer of 2025.
Restoration will begin on one of the other two sites in 2026, with work on the third site to come after that.
While acreage of these three restoration sites has not been finalized, estimates put their combined acreage near — or even more than — 1,000 acres, which would double the size of the state’s restoration oyster reefs.
“We met the goals of the 2014 Watershed Agreement for oyster restoration, and we anticipate additional ambitious goals for recovery after 2025,” said Jackie Specht, DNR’s Assistant Secretary of Aquatic Resources, in a statement. “With these three restoration projects, we’re getting started early on additional restoration and we’re maintaining our continuous effort to establish more productive oyster habitat in the Chesapeake Bay.”
