Operation Build A Reef Successfully Plants Oysters In Severn

The Severn River is now home to an additional 50 million juvenile oysters.

On July 23, an overcast and rainy Monday, 76 people boarded Watermark Cruise’s Lady Sarah to watch the oyster planting, which was a joint project between the Severn River Association and the Oyster Recovery Partnership.

This was the first in a series of plantings, and roughly 11 million spat on shell, or baby oysters, were planted.

“Restoration of the oyster population is a critical challenge for the health of our waterways,” said County Executive Steve Schuh, who was aboard the cruise ship. “The oyster is the natural filter of the bay, and the population of oysters today is a very small fraction of what it should be based on the geological history of our area. That means, in effect, we’re operating a very large fish tank without a filter.”

The Lady Sarah followed the Robert Lee, the Oyster Recovery Partnership’s planting vessel. The Robert Lee moved slowly around the river between the Severn River and Naval Academy bridges, dumping oysters as it went.

“I wasn’t expecting it to take its time, which makes sense that they’re not all dumped in one spot,” said Vikki Childs, a community member who was aboard the Lady Sarah. “It’s very interesting the way this is all done.”

South River residents Elizabeth Keyes and Deborah Brafford were interested in the cruise due to their concern about the conversation and health of local waterways.

“I’m very impressed with the passion people have for this and the quality of the program,” Keyes said. “It is really cool to see the oysters being planted.”

It was important to the organizations to involve the communities that live along the river.

“I think everyone’s being exposed to the importance of the oyster in restoring the Severn,” said Bob Whitcomb, the chair of the Severn River Association’s oyster committee.

However, Whitcomb said, 50 million is “a very small first investment” toward restoration.

“We must restore the oyster to achieve a restored river,” Whitcomb said. “This is the beginning of a campaign to raise money through all of us who live on the river and enjoy the river to invest in the quality of the water in the river by planting oysters.”

Community members spend a lot of time on the river but may not understand what’s happening “10 or 12 feet” below them, said Paul Schurick, the director of partnerships at the Oyster Recovery Partnership.

“I hope people understand how tangible this is. It’s the here and now of our work,” Schurick said.

After the Department of Natural Resources tapped the Oyster Recovery Partnership to plant 40 million oysters in the Severn, the organizations wanted to see if they could garner enough public interest to crowdsource funds for an additional 10 million oysters.

They succeeded.

Prior to this planting, the Severn River hadn’t seen a planting on the scale for roughly a decade. Instead, it relies on the Marylanders Grow Oysters program to annually put a few million oysters into the river.

“It’s rare that we get to see this here in the Severn River. Usually, when I’m on a boat doing this, it’s 100 miles from here or 20 miles from nowhere,” Schurick said. “It’s nice to be able see this. This is our own home river right here, and it’s nice to be able to see it without having to drive three hours.”