Everyone benefits from a healthy Chesapeake Bay.
Poor water quality and declining habitats can be reversed.
Oysters are the answer.

The Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) is the nonprofit expert in Chesapeake Bay oyster restoration. We’re restoring the Bay’s native oyster population by building sanctuary reefs, rebuilding public fishery reefs, supporting the aquaculture (oyster farming) industry, recycling oyster shell, and getting the public involved through hands-on volunteering and events. Since our founding in 1994, and with the support of major partners like the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Lab, ORP has planted more than 10 billion oysters on 3,000 acres of reef and recycled more than 260,000 bushels of shell!

Do you know how much water oysters filter? A single, healthy adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day!

Imagine the impact of billions of new oysters on the Bay’s health.

ORP is also home to the Shell Recycling Alliance, the nation’s largest shell recycling network, annually recycling 36,000 bushels of oyster shell from a network of 200+ restaurants and 70 public drop sites in the mid-Atlantic region.

Discover more about chesapeake bay oysters and our work below

• Oyster Facts

  

  Learn about bivalves and why they are critical to Bay health!

• Oyster Reef Restoration

  

  ORP is working to restore reefs in Five Chesapeake Bay tributaries by 2025. See our progress.

• Shell Recycling

  

  Oyster shell is the best, most natural material to rebuild reefs. We collect, recycle, and return it with spat attached to help the Bay grow clean and vibrant!

• Shell Recycling Restaurants

  

  ORP relies on these for the critical shell that we use in our large-scale reef restoration projects. The easiest thing you can do to support our work is to patronize these Bay-friendly businesses!

Help restore chesapeake bay oysters