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MGO is an annual volunteer oyster growing effort that takes place in many Bay tributaries. The program’s goal is to educate the public about how oysters affect the Chesapeake’s health, and is an ideal way to engage communities to act on behalf of the Bay. ORP manages the program and works with a network of volunteer tributary coordinators and homeowners (aka “growers”) from tributaries that have salinity levels high enough to support oyster growth. Each participating tributary has a volunteer leader who serves as growers’ main point of contact, and who makes important decisions like when to plant, how many supplies are needed, etc. The timeline for the program is roughly as follows – your local coordinator can share more specific details.
To sign-up for the MGO program, fill out the online form, and then read the Getting Started page. You will be contacted by the volunteer coordinator who manages your tributary. It is likely that the person will not be an Oyster Recovery Partnership staff member.
Oysters can die in frigid air, therefore it’s important that you adjust the cage line to lower your cages until they are just above the bottom, but not on it. The oysters must be totally under water at all times for the oysters to survive. Your oysters will not freeze as long as they are in the water.
No. Oysters eat algae and the Bay provides it for them.
Spat from the hatchery are very small – the size of a single coffee ground – and may not initially be readily visible. Let them grow for a month and they will be larger and easier to see. If by then you still don’t see any spat, then let your coordinator know.
The accumulation of fouling organisms (similar to what grows on your pilings) is normal but can accumulate and become a nuisance – it can also make your cage heavy. Scrub your cage with a brush (no detergent or soap) and dip it in the water or hose it down.
No. The growth on the cage wire won’t hurt the spat. It will simply make the cage heavier. As long as the wire mesh of the cage is at least 50% open for water flow the oysters will receive plenty of water. In other words the cage could be about 50% closed up due to fouling and still the spat will be ok. But please tend the cages and keep them from getting so fouled/heavy that they are hard to transport.
The oysters will be collected during May – June, about 9 months after you receive them. This time period avoids the heavy fouling that would occur if you continued tending the cages through the summer.
For most tributaries, the oysters will stay in your river, planted in a local sanctuary. If you are in a creek off the river that doesn’t have a historical oyster bar, your oysters will be moved to the main river for planting because small creeks and coves rarely have suitable bottom for planting oysters. For a few tributaries, your oysters will be moved to an adjacent river because there is no sanctuary yet in your river.
Slow growth could be due to lack of food, silt, low water salinity, or low temperatures. If the young oysters (spat) are stressed by high amounts of silt, growth can be stunted. Rinsing the oysters more often will help. If the salinity of the water is very low due to abundant rainfall, the spat may not grow very well. In this case, the only remedy is less rain, which Mother Nature dictates. Your spat may grow slowly simply because it is cold – water temperatures below about 50 degrees reduce growth dramatically.
No. The oyster seafood industry is highly regulated and waters where oysters are harvested are carefully monitored to ensure that the seafood is safe for human consumption. Second, the oysters are too small to harvest after only one year in your cages. Finally, this project was created to enhance the oyster population so all the oysters will be planted in a sanctuary.
Please contact ORP’s Marylanders Grow Oysters Program manager: MGO@oysterrecovery.org.
Please read through all MGO pages first. Still don’t find the info you need? Contact the MGO Program manager: MGO@oysterrecovery.org.
