![]() Successful oysterĬhronology of Oyster Restoration Management in the Chesapeake Bayġ914 First experiments with transplanting oyster seed in Marylandġ921 First experimental shell-planting project in Marylandġ922 Maryland initiates shell-planting programġ927 Watermen’s Advisory Committee formed in Marylandġ927 Maryland dedicates funding for shell-planting/oyster rehabilitation programġ928 Virginia initiates shell-planting programġ943 Maryland Board of Natural Resources is createdġ943 Maryland BNR Oyster Management Plan developed (seed areas and seed planting)ġ960 Maryland initiates oyster repletion programġ960 Maryland initiates shell-dredging program (fossil shell)ġ961 Department of Tidewater Fisheries is given authority over natural oyster reefsġ963 Potomac River Fisheries Commission is establishedġ969 Maryland Department of Natural Resources is created by legislationġ988 Virginia convenes Blue Ribbon Oyster Panelġ989 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Management Planġ990 Oyster Disease Research Program is established (NOAA/Sea Grant)ġ991 Maryland establishes surcharge to fund repletion programġ992 Virginia’s Blue Ribbon Oyster Panel reports recommendations to VMRCġ993 Virginia uses selected hatchery-reared larvae (disease resistance)ġ993 Maryland develops the Oyster Roundtable Action Planġ993 Chesapeake Bay Policy for Introducing Nonindigenous Aquatic Speciesġ994 Maryland initiates hatchery production of larvaeġ994 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Management Plan is revisedġ994 Chesapeake Bay Aquatic Reef Habitat Plan is adoptedġ994 Maryland Oyster Recovery Partnership (broad partnership)ġ999 Virginia Oyster Heritage Program (broad program goals and participants, funding)Ģ000 Chesapeake 2000 Agreement is developedĢ002 Draft Comprehensive Oyster Management Plan However, it is also important to understand that restoring productive oyster reef habitat is only one part of a complex problem, and resource managers and researchers must guard against the sentiment that oyster restoration can singularly resolve all of the ecological and environmental problems facing the bay. Currently, more emphasis is being placed on the ecological benefits of functioning oyster reefs in estuarine ecosystems, including values related to filtering capacity, structural fishery habitat, species diversity, and trophic dynamics. Oysters have long been recognized as a keystone species in the bay, and there is growing awareness of the role productive oyster reefs play in providing vital ecological and economic benefits other than fisheries alone. ![]() Only recently has there been a shift in management objectives toward rehabilitation of impaired resources and habitat to restore ecological function. Oyster resource management programs have historically been directed toward maintaining a sustainable oyster fishery and producing fishery-dependent revenues. ![]() ![]() Both Virginia and Maryland have a long history of oyster restoration, and recent restoration strategies are based on information gained over many decades of restoration management (see Box 6.1). Since oyster reefs are an essential component in the estuarine ecology of the bay, restoring reefs to functioning levels is a multifaceted priority for many resource managers. The potential for restoring the Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, on oyster reefs to self-sustaining populations appears to be one of the critical issues in restoring the overall integrity and functionality of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.
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