The Sierra Club York River Group met on November 17, 2021 to learn about shellfish (particularly oysters) in the Chesapeake Bay region. Oysters are a critical component of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem: they are prolific filter feeders that remove light-blocking algae from Bay waters and help remove excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus.
Dr. Derek Aday, recently appointed Dean and Director of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), spoke first about the Institute’s mission, vision, and many accomplishments. This tied directly into the following talks, since VIMS has a three-part mission to conduct research in coastal ocean and estuarine science, educate students and citizens, and provide advisory service to policy makers, industry, and the public.
Dr. Rowen Lockwood, of William and Mary, was the first featured speaker. She provided a fascinating historical talk about conservation paleobiology of Chesapeake oysters. One major point that she made was that the larger, older, reproductively-active females need to be better preserved, for the purpose of oyster restoration and conservation. Another point was that oyster populations and sizes used to be far greater than today; our baseline is skewed because the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay was effectively decimated in the 1800s after dredging was first initiated.
Chris Moore, Senior Regional Ecosystem Scientist of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, was the second featured speaker. He spoke about current-day efforts and challenges in oyster aquaculture and restoration. He encouraged the attendees to stay active and make their voices heard by our elected representatives.
Between the two featured speakers, the attendees were also treated to short talks by Chris Smith, Aquaculture Operations Manager at Ward Oyster Company, and Ben Stagg, Chief of the Shellfish Management Division of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. They provided perspectives from the oyster industry as well as from the regulatory side.
In the end, this Sierra Club educational event drew a very complete picture of this fascinating, useful, ecologically and economically important creature!