Northwest in Virginia Beach, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
The Oyster Barge
Welcome to the Prudence H. & 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
this page online
Erected by Chesapeake Oyster Alliance; Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Environment • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 2019.
Location. 36° 54.217′ N, 76° 5.752′ W. Marker is in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is in Northwest. It can be reached from Marlin Bay Drive east of Winston Place, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3608 Marlin Bay Dr, Virginia Beach VA 23455, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Hampton Roads, specifically in Coastal Virginia, and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Tidewater. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Fisheries / Blue Crab (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named The Oyster Barge (a few steps from this marker); Battle of the Capes, September 5, 1781 (within shouting distance of this marker); The Canoes, 2018 (approx. 0.3 miles away); Protecting Our Waterways and Wildlife (approx. Ύ mile away); Meeting of Three Commanders (approx. one mile away); Church Point (approx. 1.2 miles away); Thorowgoods in the Revolution (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Virginia Beach.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 21, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 21, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 146 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 21, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
