Conservationists in Virginia Planted Over 110,000 Baby Oysters in 2024. Here’s How It Transformed Local Waterways

When summertime arrives in Virginia, rising temperatures cause the saline, brackish waters of Chesapeake Bay to become warmer. The warming waters inform all the miniature oysters lurking in shallow depths, that it’s their time to reproduce. Males release sperms which float in the water and latch onto the females’ eggs, triggering a rapid propagation of baby oysters. These oysters clump together in clusters and form oyster reefs, which act as “natural water filtration facilities.” Given their role in conserving the bay’s ecosystem, recently the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) raised 1,10,000 baby oysters and released them into the water, as a part of “Shellabration.”

An “oyster reef” is too much of a good thing. While the grayish-brown creatures bloom and reproduce, they feed on the sediment, silt, and algae from the ocean water. They consume these elements from the water, removing excess nitrogen and phosphorus, and then returning a cleaner version of the water. Their natural purifying qualities make them excellent protectors of the bay’s ecosystem. Therefore, CBF has been actively involved in conducting various oyster restoration programs, this one being the most record-breaking.

“This year’s oyster gardening program saw the second-highest ever participation with 627 volunteers across Virginia’s tidal waterways raising and returning over 110,000 oysters in 2024,” CBF mentioned on its website. The program recruited community members as oyster gardeners. This group of gardeners raised 110,000 baby oysters through 2024. Once the oysters grew into adults, the volunteers released them back into the sanctuary reefs using wire cages attached to docks, piers, and marinas, per The News Virginian.

CBF explained that a typical adult oyster filters up to 50 gallons of water per day, which means that this year, all these adults will filter up to 5 million gallons of water each day. “There’s nothing quite like the connection between these baby oysters and their foster parents. The dedication and love it takes to raise these oysters, from cleaning cages to sending them off to live out on sanctuary reefs, is nothing short of special,” said Jessica Lutzow, CBF’s Virginia Oyster Restoration Specialist.

It's not just the filtration of water that makes these oyster reefs brilliant protectors of nature, but also that they promote biodiversity. All the while as oysters feed and reproduce, their squishy, silt carpets invite a host of fish. From pipefish to crabs and spinney blennies, marine creatures swim to the oyster beds and build their territories and colonies within.  Additionally, these 110,000 oysters will now also act as a natural armor against shoreline erosion. The oyster clusters settled on the carpets of underwater silt act as clutching forces that prevent the soil from eroding with the winds.  

Seeing the powerful role oysters play in maintaining their surrounding ecosystem, the “Shellabration” project is a remarkable initiative fostering the habitat for these valuable creatures. “It changed the trajectory of my life. At first, you start raising oysters to give back to the planet,” said Claire Neubert, a public oyster gardener for CBF at the Hampton docks. "I live in an urban environment, and it’s amazing to find these babies flourish given all the challenges they face. At the end of the day, it really becomes a question of who’s growing who," she added.