Oyster Supporters,
We began this year expecting our oyster restoration, public fishery, aquaculture, and partnership work to return to pre-pandemic levels. As you will see in this 2021 Annual Report, we’re happy to show that we met and exceeded these expectations.
Our partners’ and the public’s appetite to recover was met with ORP's resolve to plant more oysters, welcome additional supporters, launch new initiatives, and heighten awareness of the power of the mighty oyster. The proof is conclusive: 2021 was the third-most prolific planting year in ORP's history, achieving near-record levels planted in the five Maryland tributaries targeted for restoration; three of those rivers have been completed and work in the remaining two got underway in 2021.
I am privileged to work with a dedicated Board of Directors and staff focused on restoring the health of our native oyster population and the Chesapeake Bay. Please read about our 2021 progress, learn about our many milestones, and take special note of the many partners that make this work possible.
I invite you to join this partnership and our journey towards a better Bay by donating to support ORP's work.
oyster RESTORATION
Big Five Tributaries
The 2021 planting season concluded with more than 701 million spat-on-shell added to Chesapeake Bay tributaries. Our focus this year was the Tred Avon River where more than 451 million spat-on-shell were planted and initial restoration work completed. Other tributaries saw smaller yet significant plantings, including the St. Mary’s, Manokin, and Little Choptank Rivers. To date, ORP has planted more than 9 billion oysters in Bay waters!
ORP’s Oyster Monitoring and Assessment Program continues to provide insight into the health of restored oyster reefs. Monitoring conducted in 2020 documented thriving three and six-year-old reefs providing evidence that restoration goals are being met.
Photo credit: Jay Fleming
Build a Reef: Severn River
This summer, nearly 24 million juvenile oysters found their new home on the Traces Hollow Reef near the Route 50 bridge in Annapolis, Maryland. In its third successful year, Operation Build a Reef: Severn River exceeded its fundraising goal of $30,000, raising more than $40,500 in public support (surplus funds will be contributed to the 2022 campaign). Build a Reef was funded through grassroots donations from individuals, families, and businesses like title sponsor Smyth Jewelers, the M&T Bank Charitable Foundation, and the Delaplaine Foundation. The program was made possible by the Severn River Association who educated and engaged the local community, as well as the Horn Point Laboratory and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Cover photo credit: Healthy oysters from the Severn River taken by Ted Delaplaine
Photo credit: Blue Moon Photography
Build a Reef: Herring Bay
Community-funded Build a Reef efforts expanded in 2021 to Herring Bay, south of the West and Rhode Rivers in Anne Arundel County. Leveraging challenge funds raised from the 2020 Bay Paddle, local conservation group the Advocates for Herring Bay garnered grassroots support that resulted in the planting of 650,000 spat-on-shell on a sanctuary within the water body.
Marylanders Grow Oysters
The Marylanders Grow Oysters (MGO) program engages more than 2,000 volunteers to nurture young oysters during their most vulnerable first year of life. In 2021, MGO distributed 4,536 cages filled with an estimated 9 million spat-on-shell to coordinators in 36 Chesapeake Bay tributaries. Next summer, these oysters will be collected and planted on sanctuaries within community waterways.
Special thanks is due to the many partners and volunteers who helped build cages for this year’s MGO program. 11 events resulted in more than 750 cages built!
Oyster Best Management Practices
ORP continues to staff and manage the Environmental Protection Agency’s Expert Panel considering oysters' nutrient reduction capabilities. In 2016, the EPA approved oyster aquaculture as a Best Management Practice (BMP) based on the panel’s recommendations. BMPs are vital to the Chesapeake Bay clean-up strategy, helping state and local governments meet their EPA-mandated water quality standards.
The Expert Panel is still convened and currently evaluating the potential for large-scale oyster restoration to serve as a BMP. ORP anticipates finalizing this next Phase in early 2022 when panel recommendations will be submitted to EPA for review.
Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration
For the second year in a row, ORP was asked by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Nature Conservancy to help execute their Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration (SOAR) program. Launched in 2020 as a way to help farmers sell oysters during COVID shutdowns, SOAR purchased aquaculture-raised bivalves in Maryland and six other East Coast states to be planted on existing sanctuary reefs. In Maryland, ORP transported and planted 400,000 adult oysters from 19 farms in three tributaries in 2021. In addition to Pew and TNC, we thank the many watermen who supported the SOAR program with their work boats and expertise.
Nationwide, 70% of seafood, including oysters, are consumed in restaurants, which are still recovering from pandemic closures. SOAR provides much-needed relief for oyster farmers still recovering from the downturn in restaurant demand.
WORKING WITH INDUSTRY
ORP’s Shell Recycling Alliance collects free of charge from collection sites and hundreds of restaurants throughout the Mid-Atlantic, making it the largest oyster shell recycling network in the nation. In 2021, ORP shell recycling crews resumed full-time recycling operations. To date, almost 20,000 bushels of shell have been recycled from nearly 200 participating restaurants and 70 public dropsites. Since the start of the program in 2010, we have collected 246,523 bushels of shell, equivalent to 9,400 tons kept out of area landfills.
As you enjoy oysters at Shell Recycling Alliance member restaurants or at home, know that you are contributing to Bay restoration and a healthy oyster population.
Supporting the Public Fishery
ORP worked closely with Maryland’s 11 County Oyster Committees to enhance public fishery reefs and ensure their continued production for years to come. These repletion efforts, largely funded by industry through per-bushel surcharges paid by watermen, resulted in more than 204,000 bushels of shell and 216.5 million spat-on-shell going on public reefs in 2021.
This program relies on the support and expertise of Maryland watermen whose knowledge and work boats make it possible.
Photo credit: Jay Fleming
Sustainable Fishery
In 2021, we expanded our work with the charter fishing industry to report harvests electronically using E-Reporting with Fishing Activity & Catch Tracking System (FACTS). At the end of November, there were 12,793 charter trips reported. We also debuted commercial shellfish reporting as well as electronic buy tickets for shellfish dealers in FACTS. We're grateful to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, FACTS, and the charter and shellfish industry for their support along the way.
partnerships and outreach
Nearly 100 paddlers participated in the 2021 Bay Paddle, adapted into the new format of a staged relay race, including a team of 30 teachers from Anne Arundel County Public Schools, a group of veterans from the Valhalla Sailing Project and all the Bay Riverkeepers from WaterKeepers Chesapeake. Four people made history as Bay Paddle “firsts” including:
Nicole Stimpson of Severna Park, Maryland – First Female to Traverse the Length of the Chesapeake by Standup Paddleboard
Alessia Faverio of Asheville, North Carolina – First to Traverse the Length of the Chesapeake by Surfski
Brian Meyer of Annapolis, Maryland - First to Traverse the Length of the Chesapeake by Solo Outrigger Canoe
Mark McCulloh of Annapolis, Maryland - First to Traverse the Length of the Chesapeake by Two Person Outrigger Canoe
The 2021 paddle raised more than $100,000, which was shared between ORP and the Chesapeake Conservancy to plant oysters and help establish the Chesapeake Bay as a National Recreation Area.
Special thanks to 2021 Bay Paddle sponsors: Red Bull, REI, Flying Dog, Flywheel Digital, George's Mixes, Tito's Handmade Vodka, and T. Rowe Price.
Shuck Like a Pro
The biggest impediment to eating oysters at home is understanding how to safely shuck them. That’s why ORP developed Shuck Like a Pro, a fun, hands-on learning event where an expert shares knowledge and tricks of the trade to empower people to eat more oysters! ORP, with the help of partners, held six events this year, with more than 100 newly-minted shuckers.
Find the next Shuck Like a Pro near you.
Schedule a Shuck Like a Pro event.
National Oyster Day
2021’s National Oyster Day campaign became National Oyster Weekend to encourage the public to get out, eat oysters, and show support for the pandemic-recovering seafood industry. The food holiday received official recognition from Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, who announced “National Oyster Weekend” with two proclamations. Forty three restaurants participated, serving oysters fresh, fried, grilled, and more! ORP relies on these Bay-friendly businesses to provide shell - we cannot do the large-scale restoration work that we do without them. The campaign reached more than 100,000 people in the Baltimore, Annapolis, and DC areas. Special thanks to National Oyster Weekend sponsor:
Steve Connelly, Assistant Secretary, Maryland Department of Agriculture and Kaylee Fleury of ORP present proclamation to Rob Frisch of Mount Washington Tavern
National News Coverage
In July, CBS News featured a story about large-scale sanctuary reef restoration work in the Chesapeake Bay. The segment, viewed by more than 2.5 million Americans, followed an oyster shell as it moves "from plate to reef," and included interviews with Ward Slacum, ORP's Executive Director, Stephanie Alexander, Oyster Hatchery Manager/Director for Horn Point Laboratory, and Damye Hahn of Faidley's Seafood, a long-time Shell Recycling Aliance member.
Special thank you to Skyler Henry, CBS reporter, for helping us tell this important story.
