Creation of oyster reef sanctuaries in the Yeocomico and Lynnhaven Rivers, Chesapeake Bay

Details

• Personal Author:
  Wesson, James A.
• Corporate Authors:
  Virginia. Marine Resources Commission
• NOAA Program & Office:
  NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service)
• Description:
  The oyster resource in Virginia's portion of the Chesapeake Bay is at its lowest level. Oysters are pivotal organisms in the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay both for the habitat they create and for their water filtering capacity. In addition, their numbers have supported a very substantial commercial fishery. Years of overharvesting, habitat destruction and severe diseaseinduced mortalities have reduced oyster populations, and Virginia's annual oyster harvest to less than one percent of that 50 years ago. The reproductive potential of the oyster has been severely compromised by low population levels and the loss of acceptable habitat. This project is another step in an ongoing restoration effort by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) to increase oyster broodstock by creating the most optimal oyster habitat.
• Keywords:
  Estuaries Federal Government Fish Habitat Improvement Marine Resources Conservation Oysters Recolonization Rivers State Governments Federal Government Fish Habitat Improvement Marine Resources Conservation State Governments

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• Format:
  pdf
• Document Type:
  Non-series Report
• Funding:
  Grant no. NA76FU0159
• Place as Subject:
  Virginia ; Yeocomico River (Va.) ; Chesapeake Bay Watershed
• License:
  https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
• Rights Information:
  CC0 Public Domain
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ae30ec3c25dbd994a480ab122e71c05af80c91a8e332d74bba6fcd2c94850006443be91349a6a1cc96e26277aa486c9331aeaff7604d22aa8d6c5f182c9b1b30
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/73812/noaa_73812_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 739.36 KB ]