Largest oyster restoration project in the country completed on the bay

December 2, 2021
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Oysters

Governor Ralph Northam announced the completion of the largest oyster restoration project in the country, in Virginia’s Piankatank and the Great Wicomico rivers. Oysters are a critical natural component of Virginia’s work to clean the Chesapeake Bay, as one oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day. The Bay is the largest estuary in the United States with a watershed that encompasses six states that are home to more than 18 million people.

Thanks to investments made under Governor Northam, Virginia now provides more funding for the Bay than under any previous Governor, investing more than $756 million in funding to help farmers, localities, and wastewater treatment operations reduce pollution from nutrients and sediment.

Virginia has been working to restore the native oyster populations in the Chesapeake Bay with one of the largest and most elaborate plans in the nation. Virginia has fully restored four tributaries: the Lafayette, the Eastern branch of the Elizabeth, the Piankatank, and the Great Wicomico. Oyster populations are restored by constructing new reefs and planting young oysters to create new ecosystems.

“As someone who grew up on the Chesapeake Bay, I could not be more proud of the progress Virginia has made,” said Governor Northam. “This administration has invested $10 million for oyster restoration during the past four years. Several years ago, Virginia joined other states on the Chesapeake Bay watershed and agreed to conduct a series of clean-up measures by a deadline of 2025. Today’s announcement is a major step in achieving the goals in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. The investments we make in our natural resources—and our environmental stewardship—are paying off.”

Over the past two years, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission deployed more than 50,000 tons of rock and nearly 100,000 bushels of shell to restore 127 acres of oyster habitat in the Piankatank. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission also deployed more than 12,000 tons of rock and 14,000 bushels of shell to restore 24 acres of oyster habitat in the Great Wicomico River.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission set a record this year with 100 acres for the most oyster reef acres restored in a single year. The Piankatank river oyster restoration effort is the largest restoration project that has been completed in the country.

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