Updated on January 23rd, 2023.

Oyster clump from a Lynnhaven River oyster reef. Photo by Kenny Fletcher, CBF.

Decades of overharvesting, pollution, and disease have decimated the Chesapeake Bay’s oyster population to a fraction of its historical numbers. Restoration efforts have proven successful, benefiting the Bay, the economy, and other Virginia wildlife:

• Oysters are a keystone species that build three-dimensional reefs, providing habitat for many commercially important species such as blue crab and striped bass. 
• Oyster reefs prevent shoreline erosion. 
• There was a time when the oyster population in the Bay was so vast, the entire 19 trillion gallons of water could be filtered in less than a week. Today, our current population takes a whole year to filter the Bay. Recycling shells to restore oyster populations will mean more water filtration by these mollusks.

Oyster populations are rebounding in Virginia thanks to successful restoration efforts. One restoration method is to re-introduce oyster shells to the Bay, because oysters prefer to settle and grow on existing shells. Unfortunately, oyster restoration efforts and their economic benefits to the shellfish industry and water quality are stymied due to the limited number of shells available for restoration. 

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is leading support for bills that encourage the reuse of oyster shells for restoration purposes by creating a refundable tax credit for businesses that recycle spent oyster shells – the ideal habitat for young oysters.

The creation of a shell recycling tax credit would boost the number of shells available for restoration projects by incentivizing restaurants and seafood companies and distributors to save their shells. Entities like the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and non-profits engaged in oyster restoration activities would receive the oyster shells and use them for restoration purposes.