The summer was a busy time for the Environmental Committee with our seasonal water quality monitoring program, oyster conservation initiatives, and our clean regatta efforts.
In September, we will host a field trip to the bay’s major oyster hatchery on the eastern shore and begin our fall lecture series with a special presentation on the recent Chesapeake Bay “Report Card” and how “citizen science” can help restore and protect the bay. We hope many of you will join us for the field trip and the kickoff of our fall lecture series.
Over the summer, oyster spat was set on concrete triangles at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Oyster Hatchery in Cambridge, MD. On August 17, divers including EYC member Dr. Bill Ball installed the new triangles and assessed the health of our oyster wave wall with the help of our onshore volunteers including: workers, jellyfish protectors, photographers and recorders.
A special thanks our invited guests: Dr. William Dennison, Professor, University of Maryland, who as a marine scientist & diver assessed the health of the reef; Dr Allison Colden, Senior Fishery Biologist, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, who evaluated the oysters on the old triangles brought up; and Eli Gartner from UMCES Oyster Hatchery, who helped with the diving.

      
Oyster Wave Wall Installation. (Left to Right): Oyster team on C Dock w SUP & diver installing new triangles; Divers Dr. Bill Dennison, UMCES, in water with Dr. Bill Ball, EYC, on dock examining mature oyster triangle; and Dr. Allison Colden, CBF, thrilled by mature oysters growing on wave wall.

It is clear we have a healthy, thriving oyster reef. In some areas it is so packed with mature oysters that it forms a cohesive wall. Clearly, our oyster reef wave wall is doing its job!
On August 20, a very successful CRAB Cup Clean Regatta was held. Over 500 people attended the event, more than 100 boats participated, and over $70,000 was raised by just the Skippers Challenge!
Green Team members manned the ecostations and environmental educational display tables. In addition to numerous event sponsors, Annapolis Green provided a special refillable water station – The Naptown Tap. It is our hope that th

e 2022 CRAB Cup will once again be a Sailors for the Sea platinum level Clean Regatta!

   

September will be a busy month for the Environmental Committee. The Labor Day Regatta and the J/30 North American Championships at the end of the month will be important clean regattas.
On the oyster front, on September 6 we will have an exciting field trip to the UMCES oyster hatchery, the largest hatchery on the Atlantic East Coast, which provides all the larvae for our oyster efforts. Later in the month, we will install new spat covered oyster shells in the marina cages to support bay conservation efforts.
At the end of the month on September 28, Dr. William Dennison, Vice-President for Science Application, UMCES, will give a presentation on the latest Chesapeake Bay “Report Card” and the role of “citizen science” in the multi partner effort to restore and protect the bay.
Make EYC a leader in bay stewardship! Contact [email protected] if you want to help with our clean regatta and oyster efforts or join us for an educational field trip or special environmental lecture.