Unprecedented Restoration of a Native Oyster Metapopulation

Abstract

Restoring Oysters Populations and wild fisheries of native oyster species have collapsed worldwide because of overfishing and habitat destruction, resulting in severe ecosystem alteration and degradation. Expensive restoration efforts have met with little success, leading to the introduction of non-native oyster species in an attempt to recover lost economic and ecological benefits. In the Chesapeake Bay on the U.S. East Coast, eastern oyster landings and population abundance have plummeted to approximately 1% of historical levels, despite considerable expensive attempts to restore the fishery. Schulte et al. (p. 1124 , published online 30 July) present field evidence of a successful restoration of a large metapopulation of native oysters in the Great Wicomico River, a tributary on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. The metapopulation is composed of a network of reef complexes spanning 35 hectares and comprises an estimated 185 million live native oysters of 1-year-old juveniles and 2- and 3-year-old adults.