Perdue celebrates 10 years of adding oysters back into the Bay

SALISBURY, Md. – The heat and humidity didn’t make things easy for the 50 volunteers at Perdue, who spent time outside bagging up hundreds of oysters on Thursday. It’s part of the company’s involvement to help restore the Chesapeake Bay along side the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP).

“Up to date with 8,943 bags we have done over 3.5 million oysters that have been transplanted back in to the Chesapeake Bay,” says Mark Patterson, Perdue’s project coordinator with ORP.

Perdue celebrated its 10th anniversary with the Oyster Recovery Partnership by helping them bag up recycled shells and put them right back into the Bay.

“All of the shell that you saw bagged will actually be seeded or set with baby oysters or oyster larvae,” says Karis King, the event manager with the Oyster Recovery Partnership.

It’s a non-profit that believes in the power of oysters.

“The Bay is kind of our livelihood. Oysters are very important to the Bay. Each oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day. So you can imagine the exponential impacts of very large scale oyster sanctuaries or protected sites that are underwater,” says King.

Perdue, a company that’s typically known for its poultry, is diving a little deeper below the surface proving that actions speak louder than words. That all parts of agriculture, from the poultry house to the Chesapeake Bay, are valued on Delmarva.

“Our farmers are probably some of the best stewards of the land that there is on Delmarva. And you know being good stewards of the land is a priority to our Perdue farmers and Perdue associates,” says Patterson.

The oysters that were bagged up by volunteers were actually recycled from restaurants. The bags will be given to homeowners in a cage and they can hang it from their docks until the oysters are mature enough to plant.

To learn more about the Oyster Recovery Partnership: click here.

To learn more about the Maryland Grow Oysters: click here.