The Chesapeake Bay is in Danger!
You’ve read the news stories – The Chesapeake Bay is in trouble, and a lot of ecologists and environmentalists have been seeking out urgent remedies to turn the tide. We’ve found a powerful solution to putting those beautiful Maryland waters back on the mend.
With the help of like-minded people like you, our organization is committed to restoring the vitality of the Bay by putting a MILLION oysters in the water.
Why Are Oysters So Important?
In the early 1600’s Captain John Smith wrote that oysters “lay as thick as stones” in the Chesapeake Bay. In fact, the name Chesapeake is derived from an Algonquian Indian word meaning “The Great Shellfish Bay”. Fast-forward 400 years, and this vital species has all but disappeared.
The massive decrease in the oyster population has had devastating impacts on the entire Chesapeake ecosystem because these powerful shellfish belong to a very important category of marine life called filter-feeders. Oysters use their gills to remove cloudy sediment and algae from the water. This filtering process produces clearer waters which allow sunlight to reach the underwater grasses that are essential to maintaining the bay’s water quality. Oyster reefs are also critical to maintaining the Bay’s biodiversity, as they provide habitat for hundreds of species of fish and shellfish.
It’s simple – a strong oyster population is essential to the health of the bay, and the oysters can’t rebound on their own. In fact, even ol’ Uncle Sam has acknowledged this sad truth, offering a tax credit incentive for anyone who is willing to pitch in.
A Simple Solution: Grow More Oysters!
Do you have a dock on the Chesapeake Bay? Do you know someone who does?
By volunteering your private dock as a temporary home for young oyster seedlings, you can help improve the water quality of the Bay and save a struggling species. Best of all, it won’t cost you a penny, thanks to Maryland’s Oyster Aquaculture Tax Credit.
Adopt a few hundred oysters. We do all the work. You get a $500 tax credit. We all get a healthier Chesapeake Bay. Get started here.
If you interested in large scale oyster reef plantings and wish to plant 100 thousand oysters or more, please send an email for more information and pricing.
How Does It Work?
Whether you are taking advantage of the Maryland tax credit or planting an entire reef, we will do all the work. We will deliver, install and plant your oysters for you.
We deliver, install and maintain a custom-built aquaculture cage filled with oysters too junior to survive in the wild. The cage is attached to your pier, floating on the surface or submerged above the Bay floor. For the next year, your pier will provide a safe haven for the oyster seedlings until they reach maturity. After one year we will find a home for your oysters and you have the opportunity to renew your purchase and continue to support this initiative.
If we get 1000 Marylander’s to participate, we will be able to put a MILLION healthy oysters in the bay – providing habitat for more oysters and other bay creatures, and filtering up to 50 million gallons of water a day!
All Marylanders with a pier or dock with waterfront access to the Chesapeake Bay should take advantage of this tax credit, let us do the work, and help save this precious resource. If you do sign up to take advantage of the tax credit, we will deliver your cages full of baby oysters and install on your dock. After one year of hanging off your dock, we will plant your oysters as close as possible to your dock to hopefully be the start of a sustainable reef in the future.
For more details on the Maryland tax credit, click here.
Support the Initiative
True Oyster Restoration Initiative, Inc. is an environmental non-profit dedicated to restoring the native Chesapeake Bay oyster population. We are tax exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Thanks for taking the time to support the Bay!
Send us an email.