Chesapeake Bay oysters make major comeback, tripling in number over 20 years
By Valerie Bonk
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CHESAPEAKE BAY (WTOP, WTOP NEWS) — Oysters are thriving at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay, and the news continues to get better for the mollusks and local watermen.
In the past 20 years, the oyster population has grown from 2.4 billion oysters in 2004, to 7.6 billion adult oysters, plus 5 billion spat, or young oysters, in 2024, according to an assessment by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
That means the number of adult oysters in the bay more than tripled.
Mike Wilberg, a professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, said good spat sets of young oysters, a reduction in disease and restrictions on harvesting in some areas has helped them survive.
“The oyster population has been increasing across most of the Bay,” Wilberg said in a news release. “There are only a few areas where we have had decreases over the last five years. That’s a good sign from my perspective.”
Large-scale restoration sanctuaries, many put in place about 10 years ago, have helped young oysters grow. The sanctuaries are designated areas where harvesting oysters was banned so that they can grow undisturbed.
The numbers come from the 2025 stock assessment — the second such major survey of the eastern oyster in Maryland. It’s part of the 2016 Sustainable Oyster Population and Fishery Act, which requires the state to conduct a benchmark stock assessment every six years.
“Maryland has many large-scale projects underway and more to come,” said Chris Judy, director of the Department of Natural Resource’s shellfish division.
“Most recently we developed and initiated the Eastern Bay project to restore oysters in that region for the three key oysters sectors together: sanctuaries, fishery, and aquaculture. With such commitments now and in the future, we look forward to more progress.”
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