New Oyster Growing Program Engages Maryland Residents in Bay Restoration

September 2008 --Waterfront property owners on Maryland’s Tred Avon River have a new way to become involved in the Bay restoration effort through a pilot oyster-growing program set up by several Maryland state agencies and Bay Program partners.

Marylanders Grow Oysters invites residents along the Tred Avon River, a tributary of the Choptank River in Talbot County, to grow oysters from their piers using cages filled with young oysters provided by the Oyster Recovery Partnership.

Oysters are vital to the Bay because they filter algae and pollutants out of the water and form reefs that provide habitat for underwater life. (See an oyster reef’s amazing filtering abilities in this video from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.)

The state hopes to enlist 250 homeowners in the program by the end of October. Each homeowner will place four oyster cages off their pier. After a nine- to 12-month growing period, the oysters will be planted in a protected sanctuary in the Tred Avon River, adding to the more than 1.4 billion oysters that have been planted by the state throughout Maryland waters since 2000.

For more on this pilot program, visit the Marylanders Grow Oysters website. If you do not live on the Tred Avon River but would like to participate in the program in the future, you can sign up to receive information from the Department of Natural Resources when the program expands to other Maryland tributaries.

Learn about more things you can do to help the Bay at home, in your backyard and on your boat.