A partnership among environmental and conservation organizations, state governments, oyster farmers and educational groups is aiming to increase the oyster population in Chesapeake Bay to 10 billion by 2025. An oyster can filter as much as 50 gallons of water a day, which makes them big players in the health of the Bay. Scientists say that during the 1600s, oysters filtered all of the Chesapeake in a week. Today that takes a year or more. tenbillionoysters.org
This article originally appeared in the May 2018 issue.
