St. Mary’s River

Status

Restoration beginning in 2021

Restoration Stats

• The Upper St. Mary’s River Restoration Blueprint was completed in March 2020
• The Blueprint establishes a goal of restoring 59.7 acres of reef in the river
• An estimated 35 acres of healthy, high-density oyster reefs already exist, leaving 25 to be restored
• Reef construction has not yet started. Approximately 16 acres in the river require only the addition of hatchery-produced seed oysters; these will likely be seeded in 2021
• Maryland Department of Natural Resources has received a permit to build the nearly nine acres of reefs that require a substrate base, and is in the process of hiring a subcontractor for reef construction. In-water construction is anticipated to start in 2021, with seeding in 2021 or 2022

View NOAA’s 2020 Maryland Oyster Restoration Update for full details.