Oyster Recovery Partnership

Last updated
Oyster Recovery Partnership
Formation1972;51 years ago (1972)
Type501(c)(3) nonprofit
23-7204806
FocusShellfish sustainability
Location
Website oysterrecovery.org

The Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that leads conservation efforts of the native Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica , in the Chesapeake Bay and Eastern United States. [1] [2] [3] The organization's activities and programs include oyster restoration, shell recycling conservation, and sustainable fishery initiatives. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

History

The organization was established in 1972 and originally known as Chesapeake Appreciation, Inc. [2] The organization name and brand were formally changed to the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) in 1994. [7] ORP is headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland. [8] The organization has received support from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, State of Maryland, and Baltimore County. [9] [10] [11]

Programs

ORP plants the native oyster, Crassostrea virginica, back into the Chesapeake Bay. [12] [13] [14] In 2022, the organization helped to plant over 950,000,000 oysters. [15] The organization also works to provide educational opportunities to shellfish farmers on best practices for managing their oyster farms and leases. [15]

In addition, the organization works with scientists and researches to study better ways to grow oysters, restore oyster reefs, and advance oyster restoration. [16] [17] [18] [19] ORP also actively works with lawmakers and regulatory agencies to advance policy initiatives that support oyster restoration. [15] [20] The organization created and runs the Shell Recycling Alliance (SRA), an initiative with restaurants, caterers, and seafood wholesales to save used natural oyster shell, regarded as the best material on which to raise new oysters, from ending up in landfills. [15] [21]

Leadership

The organization is led by a nineteen-member Board of Directors. Notable members of the board include businessman Jim Perdue and James King, former member of the Maryland House of Delegates. [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesapeake Bay</span> Estuary in the U.S. states of Maryland and Virginia

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and the state of Delaware. The mouth of the Bay at its southern point is located between Cape Henry and Cape Charles. With its northern portion in Maryland and the southern part in Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay is a very important feature for the ecology and economy of those two states, as well as others surrounding within its watershed. More than 150 major rivers and streams flow into the Bay's 64,299-square-mile (166,534 km2) drainage basin, which covers parts of six states, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, and all of Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oyster</span> Variety of families of Mollusc

Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not all oysters, are in the superfamily Ostreoidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern oyster</span> Species of bivalve

The eastern oyster —also called the Atlantic oyster, American oyster, or East Coast oyster—is a species of true oyster native to eastern North and South America. Other names in local or culinary use include the Wellfleet oyster, Virginia oyster, Malpeque oyster, Blue Pointoyster, Chesapeake Bay oyster, and Apalachicola oyster. C. virginica ranges from northern New Brunswick south through parts of the West Indies to Venezuela. It is farmed in all of the Maritime provinces of Canada and all Eastern Seaboard and Gulf states of the United States, as well as Puget Sound, Washington, where it is known as the Totten Inlet Virginica. It was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the 19th century and is common in Pearl Harbor.

Perkinsus marinus is a species of alveolate belonging to the phylum Perkinsozoa. It is similar to a dinoflagellate. It is known as a prevalent pathogen of oysters, causing massive mortality in oyster populations. The disease it causes is known as dermo or perkinsosis, and is characterized by the degradation of oyster tissues. The genome of this species has been sequenced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oyster farming</span> Commercial growing of oysters

Oyster farming is an aquaculture practice in which oysters are bred and raised mainly for their pearls, shells and inner organ tissue, which is eaten. Oyster farming was practiced by the ancient Romans as early as the 1st century BC on the Italian peninsula and later in Britain for export to Rome. The French oyster industry has relied on aquacultured oysters since the late 18th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesapeake Bay Program</span> Organization implementing a plan to remediate ecosystem damage

The Chesapeake Bay Program is the regional partnership that directs and conducts the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay in the United States. As a partnership, the Chesapeake Bay Program brings together members of various state, federal, academic and local watershed organizations to build and adopt policies that support Chesapeake Bay restoration. By combining the resources and unique strengths of each individual organization, the Chesapeake Bay Program is able to follow a unified plan for restoration. The program office is located in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is a non-profit organization devoted to the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay in the United States. It was founded in 1967 and has headquarters offices in Annapolis, Maryland. The foundation has field offices in Salisbury, Maryland; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; Norfolk, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

<i>Governor R. M. McLane</i> (steamboat) Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

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Haplosporidium nelsoni is a pathogen of oysters that originally caused oyster populations to experience high mortality rates in the 1950s, and still is quite prevalent today. The disease caused by H. nelsoni is also known as MSX. MSX is thought to have been introduced by experimental transfers of the Pacific oyster, which is resistant to this disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portuguese oyster</span> Species of bivalve

The Portuguese oyster is a species of oyster found in the southwest Iberian Peninsula, closely related to the Pacific oyster. Although first identified as a native European species, genetic studies have suggested the Portuguese oyster originated from the Pacific coast of Asia and was introduced to Europe by Portuguese trading ships in the 16th century. The species is usually found in coastal river mouths and estuaries.

Restore America's Estuaries (RAE) is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization dedicated to preserving the nation's network of estuaries through coastal protection and restoration projects which promote the richness and diversity of coastal life. Based in Arlington, VA with staff in Seattle, Colorado, and Florida, Restore America's Estuaries is an alliance of eleven community-based coastal conservation organizations that includes the American Littoral Society (ALS), Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL), Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF), North Carolina Coastal Federation (NCCF), Save The Bay – San Francisco (STB-SF), EarthCorps, Save The Bay – Narragansett Bay (STB-NB), Save the Sound (STS) - a program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment, and Tampa Bay Watch (TBW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oyster reef restoration</span> Process of rebuilding or restoring of oyster reefs

Oyster reef restoration refers to the reparation and reconstruction of degraded oyster reefs. Environmental changes, modern fishing practices, over harvesting, water pollution, and other factors, have resulted in damage, disease, and ultimately, a large decline in global population and prevalence of oyster habitats. Aside from ecological importance, oyster farming is an important industry in many regions around the world. Both natural and artificial materials have been used in efforts to increase population and regenerate reefs.

<i>Ischadium</i> Genus of bivalves

Ischadium is a monotypic genus of mussels in the family Mytilidae. The sole species is Ischadium recurvum, known as the "Hooked mussel" or "Bent mussel". It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Cape Cod to the West Indies. They are often found growing on Eastern oysters, either intertidal or subtidal. They also attach to other hard substrates, including artificial reefs and dead shells of brackish water clams, Rangia cuneata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Living shoreline</span>

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The term oyster reef refers to dense aggregations of oysters that form large colonial communities. Because oyster larvae need to settle on hard substrates, new oyster reefs may form on stone or other hard marine debris. Eventually the oyster reef will propagate by spat settling on the shells of older or nonliving oysters. The dense aggregations of oysters are often referred to as an oyster reef, oyster bed, oyster bank, oyster bottom, or oyster bar interchangeably. These terms are not well defined and often regionally restricted.

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Kellyn LaCour-Conant is a Creole restoration ecologist. Kellyn is a director of Habitat Restoration Programs at the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL), a nonprofit of environmentalists working to restore Louisiana's coastline. She supports wetland restoration projects and environmental justice movements.

References

  1. "The Chesapeake Bay Oyster Expert: Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP)". Oyster Recovery Partnership. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  2. 1 2 Patterson, Neal; Patterson, Kathryn Wielech (2016-08-01). Maryland's Chesapeake: How the Bay and Its Bounty Shaped a Cuisine. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-1-4930-1792-8.
  3. "Traversing the Bay, Top to Bottom". Chesapeake Bay Magazine. 2023-08-15. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  4. Chesapeake Bay oyster restoration, management & research: oversight field hearing before the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans of the Committee on Resources, U.S. House of Representatives. U.S. Government Printing Office. 2002. ISBN   978-0-16-069605-3.
  5. Livie, Katherine J. (2015-10-26). Chesapeake Oysters: The Bay's Foundation and Future. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   978-1-62585-392-9.
  6. "For volunteers, repopulating Chesapeake Bay with oysters is personal". Washington Post. 2023-07-25. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  7. Smaal, Aad C.; Ferreira, Joao G.; Grant, Jon; Petersen, Jens K.; Strand, Øivind (2018-11-26). Goods and Services of Marine Bivalves. Springer. ISBN   978-3-319-96776-9.
  8. Catacalos, Renee Brooks (2018-10-15). The Chesapeake Table: Your Guide to Eating Local. JHU Press. ISBN   978-1-4214-2689-1.
  9. Keiner, Christine (2010). The Oyster Question: Scientists, Watermen, and the Maryland Chesapeake Bay Since 1880. University of Georgia Press. ISBN   978-0-8203-3718-0.
  10. "Governor Moore Announces $13.7 Million in Capital Grants Funding, $9.1 Million for Oyster Recovery Partnership Following Board of Public Works Meeting - Press Releases - News - Office of Governor Wes Moore". governor.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  11. Ban, Charlie. "Baltimore County bay cleanup aids the local ecosystem and crabbing industry". NACo. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  12. Cuker, Benjamin E. (2020-08-10). Diet for a Sustainable Ecosystem: The Science for Recovering the Health of the Chesapeake Bay and its People. Springer Nature. ISBN   978-3-030-45481-4.
  13. "Operation Build-a-Reef oyster planting | PHOTOS". Capital Gazette. 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  14. Glandon, Hillary Lane; Michaelis, Adriane K.; Politano, Vincent A.; Alexander, Stephanie T.; Vlahovich, Emily A.; Reece, Kimberly S.; Koopman, Heather N.; Meritt, Donald W.; Paynter, Kennedy T. (2016). "Impact of Environment and Ontogeny on Relative Fecundity and Egg Quality of Female Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) from Four Sites in Northern Chesapeake Bay". Biological Bulletin. 231 (3): 185–198. ISSN   0006-3185. JSTOR   44134835.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Oyster Recovery Partnership - GuideStar Profile". www.guidestar.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  16. "Oyster Restoration - Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP)". Oyster Recovery Partnership. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  17. Panagopoulos, Thomas (2020-06-16). Nature-Based Solutions for Restoration of Ecosystems and Sustainable Urban Development. MDPI. ISBN   978-3-03936-242-4.
  18. "30 Million Oysters Planted in Severn River". Chesapeake Bay Magazine. 2023-06-12. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  19. De Piper, Geret S.; Lipton, Douglas W.; Lipcius, Romuald N. (2017). "Valuing Ecosystem Services: Oysters, Denitrification, and Nutrient Trading Programs". Marine Resource Economics. 32 (1): 1–20. ISSN   0738-1360. JSTOR   26562250.
  20. "Group plants oysters in the Chesapeake Bay to keep the water clean. - CBS Baltimore". www.cbsnews.com. 2023-06-19. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  21. "Shell Recycling". Oyster Recovery Partnership. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  22. "Board of Directors". Oyster Recovery Partnership. Retrieved 2023-09-09.