The keystone goal of the Chesapeake Bay Program is to improve water quality by reducing overall levels of nutrients in the Bay. The native Chesapeake Bay oyster has long been recognized for its capacity to filter and clean the Bay waters, but public oyster restoration has been hampered by disease, predation, and habitat loss.

Oyster aquaculture shows potential to overcome these challenges. This project, funded through EPA’s targeted watershed grant program, aims to measure the nutrient removal capacity of oyster aquaculture facilities and to explore ways financial incentives can be created to encourage nutrient removal through new investments in oyster production.