It’s safe to say that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation – or anyone concerned with the health of our local waterways and its critters – is interested in how Harris Creek is doing. It’s the largest known man-made oyster reef in the world. While the project’s success will be measured over the course of many years, early monitoring reports out now begin to indicate whether the restoration is meeting expectations.
It was great news when reports showed that by and large oyster restoration is remarkably successful in Harris Creek. It is meeting scientifically determined thresholds for success, and then some. Eighty percent of the reefs in some areas of the creek are meeting the optimal threshold of 50 oysters per square meter. While the Spy has its doubts about the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s claim there were no staff celebrations on this news, the CBF message was clear in talking to Alan Girard, CBF’s Eastern Shore Director, and Allison Colden, its Maryland Fisheries Scientist, that this is not the time for a victory party.
As Alan and Allison discuss in their Spy interview last week, the Harris Creek project still has many serious hurdles to pass over before any real success can be declared. Nonetheless, both Alan and Allison can’t hide their genuine excitement with the latest monitoring results.
Alan also talks about CBF’s upcoming, Harris Creek Rod and Reef Slam which turns out to be not your average fishing tournament.
This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Harris Creek project or the Rod and Reef Slam please go here
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