The Oyster Barge

The Oyster Barge. . , Welcome to the Prudence H. and Louis F. Ryan Mobile Oyster Restoration Center (aka the Oyster Barge). , Built in 2019 specifically for our oyster restoration program, you won't find anything like this in the world. With a capacity of 15 million oysters per year, this floating center allows CBF to restore oysters more efficiently than ever., Recycled oyster shells and reef balls make their way to the barge and are placed into one of the 850-gallon tanks you see before you. Larval oysters are then added to the tanks. Once the oysters attach to a shell or reef ball, these baby oysters are called spat. These spat are transplanted to protected reefs where they will grow, filter, and spawn more baby oysters. Together with Lynn River NOW and the many other partners in the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance, we're working to add 10 billion oysters to the Bay by 2025., To learn more about the benefits of this cutting-edge facility, visit cbf.org/oysterbarge., How Can You Help? , Volunteer for an oyster planting. , Our busiest seasons are spring and summer when we produce baby oysters. Volunteers are needed to help load and unload our tanks and plant baby oysters on sanctuary reefs. Our restoration team is small with big dreams, so it takes hard work and dedication from hundreds of volunteers to make oyster restoration programs a success. Find out more at cbf.org/vaoyster., Did you know? , The Oyster Barge is one of the first floating oyster restoration centers in the world. Scan below to learn more., [Caption:] , When not docked here, the barge is off restoring oysters in other tributaries., Who lives on an oyster reef? , Oyster reefs create habitat for over 300 species of Chesapeake Bay critters., Grass Shrimp , Grass shrimp are the most abundant species of shrimp in the Bay., Red Beard Sponge , Red Beard Sponge are not plants but animals that are filter feeders like oysters., Mud Crab , There are 5 species of mud crabs found in the Chesapeake Bay.