We want to make sure your adult oysters are among those living, filtering, and reproducing on sanctuary oyster reefs, so please bring them back to us. you must bring back your oysters! CBF will set dates and locations where you can bring in your old oysters and pick up new oyster spat for the next year. During the winter months, you should keep an eye on your cage to make sure ice flows and severe weather does not damage it. Whenever oysters are feeding (about April through November), you should shake or tumble them every few days to dislodge any sediment and pseudofeces. When the weather is warm (May through September), you can expect to clean your oysters at least once every two weeks.
How much time can I expect to spend tending my oysters, and what other commitments are involved?Ī. This includes keeping an eye on them all winter long. Oysters can be grown at a marina, community dock, vacation home, friend's house, etc., on the Chesapeake as long as you make sure you tend them regularly. You can tie your cages to a dock, pier, bulkhead or pilings. This is because oysters will die if they become smothered in silt or freeze out of the water (they will not die if they freeze in the water). Your site must also have a minimum water depth of one foot, even during extreme conditions. and south of Laskin Road on Linkhorn Bay.south of Virginia Beach Blvd on Eastern Branch Lynnhaven River.east of the Twin Bridges on Eastern Branch Elizabeth River.south of the High Rise Bridge on the Southern Branch Elizabeth River.west of Williamsburg on the James River.above the Route 301 Bridge on the Potomac River.above Brown's Creek on the Chester River.above Round Bay on the Severn River (that is, northwest of, or upstream of, Round Bay).Most places in the Bay meet this requirement, but there are 'boundaries' beyond which you can not grow them. You must have access to water with a salinity of at least three parts-per-thousand year round for your oysters to thrive. What type of dock and water conditions do I need to grow oysters?Ī.
Come to one of the oyster gardening workshops or seminars scheduled each year in Maryland and Virginia. How can I get started in oyster gardening?Ī. In late summer/early fall you can pick up your new spat and continue growing oysters for the next year. Ideally, you will return them to CBF in late spring/early summer. These big, nine-month-old oysters have a greater chance of surviving once they are planted on sanctuary reefs than they would if we simply took them right from the hatchery and planted them.Īfter nine months of growing your oysters, you return them to CBF for planting on sanctuary oyster reefs. Keeping oysters in cages allows them maximum exposure to oxygen and plankton, which means they will grow faster than they would in their natural habitat on the Bay bottom. You then tend these oysters for about nine months. New gardeners are required to attend a training session, from which you will leave with everything you need to grow oysters, including cages and about 1,000 to 2,000 spat (baby oysters). Once grown, the adult oysters are returned to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for planting on sanctuary reefs. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation's oyster gardening program gives people the opportunity to help bring back this vital species by growing oysters alongside their docks. Unfortunately, though, today's oyster population is a fraction of its original level. They also provide essential habitat for fish and other Bay creatures. Oysters are the Chesapeake Bay's best natural filters. Can you give me a quick overview of how the oyster gardening program works?Ī.
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