|
With summer winding down, we at SRA are returning our focus to the mighty eastern oyster. In the first week of this month, we submitted a grant proposal for the direct-setting of 13 million oyster larvae onto prepared river bottom in our sanctuary. If funded, the oysters would be planted a year from now, and their survival monitored by SCUBA divers in spring, 2025. On September 14 the SRA team visited the Horn Point Laboratory, a University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science facility in Cambridge, MD to learn more about the dynamics of oyster larvae before they “strike” and spend the rest of their lives in the same place. Depending on the survival rate of the oyster larvae, the direct-setting approach may significantly curtail the cost of oyster restoration in the river, accelerating the population’s recovery and reducing emissions from barges and trucks moving tons of shell around the Bay.
The 2023-2024 Marylanders Grow Oysters season kicks off this month, deploying spat-on-shell to over 1,500 oyster cages throughout the river, where the oysters can grow in relative safety for 9 months until their shells firm up and they take up residence in the sanctuary.
We are also resuming our monitoring of the health of our reefs. We’ve recruited some volunteers for our annual oyster dive survey at the beginning of October, when we assess the health of the reefs and the success of our restoration efforts. We will also use underwater videography as part of a project with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center to film the marine life calling the reefs home.
Perhaps our revitalized attention to oysters is related to the old rule of thumb that oysters are best enjoyed after summer ends. (A tradition at least 4000 years old, a 2019 study suggests). As I write, I have my windows open to take in the breeze, and there is a delicious crisp in the air–almost as delicious as a plate of fresh oysters with a nice mignonette!
| 
