1oo Stories

In 1973, a small metal building on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay became the birthplace of oyster restoration at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES). The original hatchery was a modest space, shared between striped bass and oyster research, equipped with only four tables and a few small tanks. The algae room—essential for growing food for oyster larvae—was tucked in the middle of the building, completely devoid of natural sunlight. Yet, from these humble beginnings, the hatchery team laid the groundwork for an operation that would one day become a global model for large-scale oyster restoration.

Growth and Innovation

Through years of trial and error, innovation, and expansion, the hatchery steadily grew. A greenhouse was added in 1997 to increase larvae production, though it presented new challenges, particularly in climate control. By 2004, UMCES moved into a state-of-the-art hatchery designed with all the lessons learned from the old facility. This transition wasn’t immediate—2004 marked the move, but the facility wasn’t fully online until 2007. The first spawning season in the new hatchery was a balancing act, with researchers still fertilizing eggs in the old building and carrying buckets of larvae across the driveway to their new home. That same year, the team navigated the complexities of temperature control and feeding systems, setting the stage for exponential growth.

By 2010, the hatchery’s setting pier—where larvae attach to shells and begin their transformation into oysters—came online, expanding from just 12 setting tanks to an impressive 62. This allowed the team to significantly scale up their restoration efforts. Thanks to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, signed under the Obama administration, Maryland and Virginia committed to restoring five tributaries each. Today, UMCES has helped restore four of Maryland’s five designated tributaries, with the final one on track for completion by 2025.