2015 Oyster Reef Monitoring Report

Description

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Baltimore District, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Oyster Recovery Partnership and other partners are working to restore oysters in ten Chesapeake Bay tributaries by 2025. A set of oyster restoration success criteria, the Chesapeake Bay "Oyster Metrics," was developed by scientists and resource managers prior to the start of tributary-scale restoration work. Harris Creek was the first tributary selected for large-scale oyster restoration. Partners developed a Harris Creek Tributary Plan to guide restoration, and in-water work began there in 2011.

Per the Harris Creek Tributary Plan and the Oyster Metrics success criteria, each restored reef is to be monitored three years and six years after restoration treatment. In Harris Creek, the first 12 reefs (102 acres) were treated in 2012, and were due for their three-year monitoring in fall 2015. These 12 reefs are collectively called the "first cohort" of Harris Creek reefs. This report describes how each reef is faring against the preestablished Oyster Metrics success criteria, as of fall 2015.