By Lani Gering

In fact, according to the old adage “R Months Rule”, April is the last month we should consume our bivalve favorites until September rolls around. While this “rule” has some merit since oysters are at their best during the cooler months and warm weather has the potential to raise some food safety concerns with shell fish, modern day refrigeration and the advent of oyster farming/gardening assures us that they are available year-round. One of the reasons oysters are at their best during cooler months is they are spawning during the summer months and this can affect their taste and texture and make them less plump and flavorful. The key is to make sure you are purchasing oysters from outlets – including restaurants – that are known for adherence to maintaining quality specimens from known sources. Two local restaurants – Landini Brothers Fish Market (Rex Platinums from Hooper Island Oyster Company) and Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub (Back Creek Beauties from their Back Creek Oyster Company) carry oysters from their respective farms.

The Old Town Crier has been a big supporter of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) since 1988 and continues to support their Oyster Restoration effort. We have published information regarding this effort in the past but thought it would be a good idea to let you know what YOU can do to participate in the effort. I contacted Kenny Fletcher, the CBF Director of Communications and Media to garner some specifics. The following information is directly from the CBF site:

How Can You Help?

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation recognizes that saving the Bay is uniquely tied to restoring the native oyster, Crassostrea virginica. Historically, Chesapeake oysters were the Bay’s most valuable fishery. Ecologically, native oysters are equally important: they filter algae, sediment, and other pollutants. Oyster reefs also provide habitat for fish, crabs, and other Bay organisms. Restoring the Bay’s native oyster population is critical to help improve the Bay’s water quality, economic viability, resilience, and biodiversity. Success depends on everyone, regardless of background or identity. Clean water and a safe environment are rights we all share.

Oyster Gardening

Help rebuild the Chesapeake Bay’s oyster population by becoming an oyster gardener. Hundreds of community members in Maryland and Virginia grow oysters alongside their docks and then help CBF plant them on sanctuary reefs.

How Is it Done?

1. To grow oysters, each participant builds a set of oyster cages from wire mesh, which will hang from the dock. The gardener also receives spat on shell, which are baby oysters on recycled oyster shell. This step usually takes place between August and October.
2. Gardeners grow their oysters in the cages for about a year until the oysters are about one to two inches long.
3. The gardener then returns the adult oysters to CBF, and our staff plant the oysters onto sanctuary (non-harvest) reefs in Maryland waters. This step usually takes place between May and July.
4. The gardener starts over with a new batch in the fall. The hope is that each gardener will continue to produce a new crop of healthy adult oysters year after year.

Find out more about oyster gardening and how you can become a gardener in Maryland, Baltimore, and Virginia on the site at cbf.org.

Oyster Shell Recycling

Oyster shells are literally the foundation of our reef restoration efforts, but they are becoming increasingly scarce. Through CBF’s Save Oyster Shell recycling program, individuals and restaurants donate empty shells to be used in a variety of oyster restoration projects.

We turn 4,000 bushels of recycled oyster shells each year into habitat for millions of oysters planted in the Bay and its rivers. Once the recycled shells are cleaned and cured, CBF places them in huge water tanks containing millions of microscopic oyster larvae, which then attach to the shells. On average, each recycled shell can become home to around 10 of those baby oysters, called spat. CBF provides the spat-on-shell to its oyster gardeners and plants them in rivers and the Bay to grow and expand oyster reefs.

You can help by:

1. Contacting us if you are planning an oyster roast or seafood festival.
2. Sponsoring a shell recycling bin at your location.
3. Disposing of your shells at a local shell recycling location.
4. Eating at a participating restaurant.

For information on local shell recycling locations and participating restaurants, please visit our Save Oyster Shells web page.

Reef Ball Construction

Reef balls provide hard substrate for the settlement and growth of oysters. They emulate the structure of an undisturbed oyster reef that builds higher in the water column over time through generations of oyster spawning and growing. The reef balls also create instant habitat for fish, crabs, and other Bay organisms.

Sometimes CBF will set the reef balls with oyster larvae, just like we do with recycled oyster shells. CBF depends on volunteers to help us build and deploy reef balls all across the watershed. If you would like to volunteer go to the website.

Founded in 1966, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is the largest independent conservation organization dedicated solely to saving the Bay. Their mission is to Save the Bay and its waterways by educating, uniting, and inspiring people to take action.

https://www.cbf.org/about-cbf/our-mission/restore/oyster-restoration/