The Chesapeake Bay Oyster: Cobblestone to Keystone

Throughout human history there are few foods that have been at the center of as much conflict, intrigue, murders, passionate emotions and poetry as the humble oyster. The history of the oyster in the Chesapeake Bay region includes a boom and bust period and is peppered with many colorful and fascinating anecdotes. It was a primary food source for Native Americans and early European settlers, and the targeted species of a thriving fishing industry in the 1800s during which over exploitation and competition resulted in “oyster wars” fought on several fronts. Today the oyster is the focus of a rapidly growing aquaculture industry and is recognized as a keystone species in the Bay providing important ecological functions such as water filtration and habitat through reef formation for a diverse community of Bay organisms including juvenile fish and crabs. This has motivated oyster restoration efforts led by both …