Brian Denson of Norfolk District shows Seatack Elementary fourth graders how sea squirts attach themselves to the mesh bags, which houses the baby oyster spats. The sea squirts compete for food with the baby oyster spats and weigh down the Taylor Floats. The current native oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay is less than one percent of its original total when English Captain John Smith arrived in Virginia in the early 17th century. He would later describe in his journal that the oysters were as “big as dinner plates.” In a continuing effort to restore the Bay’s oyster population, Norfolk D


Brian Denson of Norfolk District shows Seatack Elementary fourth graders how sea squirts attach themselves to the mesh bags, which houses the baby oyster spats. The sea squirts compete for food with the baby oyster spats and weigh down the Taylor Floats. The current native oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay is less than one percent of its original total when English Captain John Smith arrived in Virginia in the early 17th century. He would later describe in his journal that the oysters were as “big as dinner plates.” In a continuing effort to restore the Bay’s oyster population, Norfolk District, US Army Corps of Engineers, has constructed about 400 acres of sanctuary oyster bars in Virginia waterways that feed into the Chesapeake Bay. Currently, Norfolk District employee-volunteers and partner Seatack Elementary School in Virginia Beach, Va., have constructed an oyster sanctuary reef along the Elizabeth River shoreline of the district’s waterfront property. Together the team is growing 14,000 new baby spat oysters, or garden oysters, to join the 10,000 maturing oysters placed on the reef from last year’s floats. (US Army photo/Gerald Rogers) 121101-A-HS496-011 by norfolkdistrict


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Photo credit: © Military Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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