Pardon my absence from the past week; I've been on the Eastern Shore with The Boyfriend and his family vacationing and celebrating a momentous 70th birthday! Their newly rebuilt and fine waterfront abode is perched on the historic Kent Island, the largest island on the Chesapeake Bay.
But this beloved Bay is increasingly exposed to pollutants, thus endangering the precious ecosystem. So responsible residents (ie, Boyfriend's family) are participating in a bay-restoration project, whereby oysters are used to filter the water and remove toxic pollutants. One such environmental awareness group is Oyster King, a privately owned Maryland corporation whose initiatives are aimed at cultivating an accelerated population of oysters, which consume nitrogen-containing compounds (nutritious, actually, to these filter feeders) thus removing them from the water.
Oyster filtration mitigates water pollutants... Did you know this?!
Here's how it works. Floating Oyster Hotels are placed in the water, under the dock.
Oyster King technicians come out for quarterly visits to ensure the proper development and maturation of oysters so that they can reach all the important reefs.
Teeny tiny baby oysters, or oyster larvae, called SPAT.
Spat, a year later... Oysters!
Want a piece of the action in saving the environment?
Getting the Chesapeake Bay back to its original, pristine beauty would take about 20 million unharvested oysters... For those in Maryland or surrounding areas, may it behoove you to participate in this program. Waterfront property or not, you could still support this worthy initiative and get a tax credit.
Oyster King
Chesapeake Bay Program
Oyster King
Chesapeake Bay Program
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