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An 'Oyster Recovery Partnership' underway in the Chesapeake Bay

In a Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019 photo, bushels of oysters are gathered on a boat after about three hours of dredging on the Chesapeake Bay in southern Maryland. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources reduced the amount of oysters that can be harvested commercially by power dredging this season to a 10-bushel limit per person, compared to a 12-bushel limit last season. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)
Brian Witte
/
AP
Photo: Brian Witte/AP

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States covering about 4,480 square miles and containing some 15 trillion gallons of brackish water. The Bay is also full of oysters! Maryland saw the lowest oyster harvest ever in the early 2000s, but thanks to the hard work of lots of different groups, oysters are bouncing back. A new plan from the Eastern Bay Oyster Coalition Workgroup has a goal of improving things more. We talk with Olivia Caretti, Coastal Restoration Program Manager at the Oyster Recovery Partnership to hear about it.

Ashley Sterner is the co-host of WYPR’s <i>On The Record</i>.