Oyster Recovery Partnership

MISSION

The Oyster Recovery Partnership is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that designs, promotes and implements consensus-based and scientifically-sustainable shellfish ecological restoration, aquaculture and commercial fishery activities to improve the environment and expand economic opportunities in the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays and beyond.

VISION

To have a self-sustaining oyster population for ecological and economic purposes that is characterized by a well-managed and growing commercial fishery and aquaculture industry in the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays and beyond.

VALUES

ORP believes that shellfish are critical to reversing the Chesapeake Bay’s poor water quality and declining habitats. Given oysters’ critical ecologic role and keystone status in the Bay, oyster restoration and aquaculture are two of only a few strategies that provide restorative benefits to the Bay while also providing green jobs.ORP recognizes that ultimately its job is about people – everyone can benefit from a restored oyster population.

PARTNERS

The Oyster Recovery Partnership relies on its many partners to assist us restoring oysters to the Chesapeake Bay. Listed below are some of the many Bay-minded partners who have supported our mission. In addition to our “Restoration Partners,” ORP also works alongside eco-minded corporations and other nonprofits to research and promote oyster recovery efforts and Bay health issues. Moreover, without the continued financial support and interest of the Maryland Congressional delegation and State leadership, our recovery efforts and successes would not be possible.

SHELL RECYCLING

Natural oyster shell is the best material on which to raise new oysters and restore oyster reefs. Scientists know that now, but for generations used oyster shells were used to build roads, driveways and housing construction. Some ended up in landfills. The Oyster Recovery Partnership developed the Shell Recycling Alliance (SRA) to save this extremely limited natural resource. Every half shell collected by the SRA creates a new home for approximately 10 baby oysters.

Follow that shell! Check out the shell recycling and oyster restoration process here.

When the program launched in 2010, 22 restaurants signed on as members. Six year later, the SRA is now 300 members strong, and the largest shell recycling network in the country.In addition to restaurants and businesses, the SRA collects used shell from public drop sites in 11 counties.In 2016, over 30,000 bushels of oyster shell was collected from establishments in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. The shell that was collected in 2016 will enable ORP to plant over 150 million filter-feeding oysters into the Chesapeake Bay. Since its launch, the SRA has recycled 100,000 bushels of shell.

REMOTE SETTING AND TRAINING PROGRAM

ORP, in cooperation with UMD Extension and Horn Point Laboratory Oyster Hatchery, offer individuals the opportunity to produce their own oysters through the remote setting and training program. Remote setting enables Maryland leaseholders to cost-effectively produce their own oyster spat on shell without the complexity of a big hatchery. Growers are provided free training, larvae and access to equipment. Since the programs began in 2010, more than 60 growers have participated in the program and produced and planted 800 million spat-on-shell. Some are using this program in conjunction with grants/loans that they receive through MARBIDCO, which assist with startup costs and ongoing expenses associated with spat on shell production.

Interested leaseholders can sign up to use these remote setting systems at no charge. We provide use of tanks with all supporting equipment at nine locations across Maryland, from Crisfield on the Lower Easter Shore to Piney Point on the Western Shore. Hands-on, technical support is provided to all participants, including introductory setting training to post-setting evaluations to determine how many spat on shell were produced. UMCES Horn Point Oyster Lab Hatchery provides the oyster larvae. To participate, individuals must have a tidal fish license (TFL), a lease, be able to acquire or funds to purchase their own shell and provide the labor to produce and plant their spat. Click here for an Aquaculture Case Study from three growers who participated in the program.

LEASE MAPPING

Any participant in the Remote Setting and Training Program can get their leases mapped for free. A seafloor survey report can help growers understand the condition of their lease. Three different types of data products are collected during the survey report. Maps indicating the measured depth of the area, relative hardness and imagery of the seafloor and any objects present are collected. Interested in learning the bottom condition of your lease? Contact us at 410-990-4970.

PURCHASE OYSTER LARVAE AND SEED

ORP is working with the UMCES Horn Point Oyster Lab Hatchery to offer high quality oyster larvae, seed and spat on shell. To better serve Maryland’s watermen and shellfish growers, this program offers a variety of C. virginica larvae, seed and spat on shell in various sizes, including disease resistant (DR) stocks (with 60 days advance order) and limited quantities of triploids.

OYSTER RESTORATION

Oyster Recovery Partnership assists our partners in designing and implementing oyster restoration projects that maximize ecosystem services that oysters can provide. ORP’s mission is to increase the number of oysters in the Chesapeake Bay, and over the years, this has been accomplished by planting oysters in sanctuaries, managed reserves, and public fishing grounds. ORP has an impressive history of restoration; since 1998, 6.7 billion oysters have been planted on over 2,200 acres of oyster habitat in Maryland waters. During that time, refinements to the oyster restoration process allowed ORP and its partners to redefine success from fewer than ten acres of oyster plantings annually in our early years, to the hundreds of acres planted currently. ORP is now assisting with the one of the largest oyster reef restoration projects to occur worldwide in tributaries on the eastern shore of Maryland.

The restoration process is complex and could not be carried out without our partners, who work with ORP to supply oyster larvae, identify areas that will sustain successful reefs, and monitor reefs after construction. Currently, the majority of ORP restoration efforts are directed toward sanctuary reefs, which are areas that are protected and where harvesting does not occur. Sanctuary reefs have the best chance of forming a natural, three-dimensional structure that provides habitat for Chesapeake Bay marine animals and ecosystem services such as water quality improvement.