Baby Oysters Find New Home at Hillsmere Marina

The healthy future of the Chesapeake Bay can be found in the Hillsmere marina on muddy-looking, recycled oyster shells. Yesterday, a small corps of volunteers gently loaded shells into cages in the local marina as part of the state's effort to restore the health of the bay.

The shells were covered in spat, or baby oysters, that looked mostly like muddy slime. The idea is that with some tender loving care from volunteers, the spat will grow into healthy oysters that can be replanted in sanctuary reefs along the South River. Once there, they will become part of a larger group of oysters that will work to filter out major impurities in the waters of the Chesapeake.

The oyster's natural tendency is to clean the water. A decline in oyster population in recent years has diminished the bay's ability to properly clean itself, let alone keep up with the increased amount of pollution in the water.

State and environmental officials hope projects like the one sponsored by the South River Federation and the Hillsmere community will help heal the bay. The statewide effort, the Oyster Recovery Partnership, is a joint program of the state Department of Natural Resources and various local organizations, such as the South River Federation.

It was wet, if not sort of dirty, work. Cindy Wallace, program coordinator for the South River Federation, said she didn't mind it a bit.

"Most of my work is done in the office so I don't hesitate to get out here," she said shortly after walking out of Duvall Creek.

More than 90 bags of shells were deposited into the water, some awaiting placement in other communities around the area, and others to their new home on the marina floor for the next year.

Wallace and another volunteer dipped into the water to safely place the bags that weighed about 15 to 20 pounds each onto wooden pallets in the water along the marina's dock. Those oysters are awaiting a permanent home in other waterways on this side of the bay, said Kevin Green of Hillsmere. Green serves on the community's environmental and security committee, as well as on the South River Federation board.

Green said Hillsmere had 50 cages last year, which was the first year of participation for both Hillsmere and the South River Federation. Green said he hopes to grow the Hillsmere effort to 60 cages this year.

"We thought this was a great way to get more involved," Green said. "We've got great water here in Hillsmere."

Duvall Creek continuously flushes the water well at the marina, Green said, motioning out to the junction of the creek, the South River and the bay.

Green and several other volunteers split some of the shell bags among the cages attached to the docks in the marina. Wallace said the shell bags will remain in the cages until spring, with more volunteers periodically cleaning the growing oysters to keep them clear of algae and other debris.

"Volunteers will have to pull the cages up and keep them clean," Wallace said. "We only fill them about a quarter full to give the oysters room to grow. And they can get pretty mucky and heavy."

She said if all goes according to plan, the spat will grow about 1 to 1 ½ inches in that time. And the 92 shell bags will grow to be about a bushel. Once they have grown, the Hillsmere oysters will be transplanted to a sanctuary reef in Glebe Bay near Londontown across the South River.

Already, more spat is being grown at the oyster hatchery at Horn Point in Cambridge on the Eastern Shore. The hatchery, where the spat-covered shells placed on Thursday was grown, is a joint effort of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the Sea Grant Extension Program.

Wallace said other volunteers throughout the region also are growing spat on their personal docks.

"Once we transplant these shells, we'll start all over and do it again," she said.