Oysters Are on the Rebound in the Chesapeake Bay http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/science/04oyster.html?ref=todayspaper Oysters on the Comeback in Chesapeake Bay, Thanks to Elevated Homes http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/08/03/oysters-on-the-comeback-in-chesapeake-bay-thanks-to-elevated-homes/ Inmates make oyster cages to boost Bay http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=227924&format=html Plucked from the depths http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14159943 Maryland Sea Grant: The Living Chesapeake: Oysters [pdf] http://www.mdsg.umd.edu/issues/chesapeake/oysters/ The Oyster Guide http://www.oysterguide.com/ In the 19th and early 20th centuries, oystermen combed the waters around New York, Philadelphia, and other major cities to obtain a wide range of oysters for consumption by the dozen. By the middle of the 20th century, the waters around many Eastern seaboard cities were terribly polluted, and eating anything that spent time in such waters was a risky proposition. The New York Times had some good news to report on the oyster front this week when they noted that experimental reefs created along the Virginia shore five years ago are starting to help replenish the native oyster stocks in that area. The reefs were created by the United States Army Corps of Engineers by dumping thousands of pounds of oyster shells around the area. Oysters are a type of keystone species in and around the Chesapeake Bay, as they help filter the water and also create fish habitats. These are early days for the restoration effort, a fact not lost on Jack Travelstead, chief of the fisheries management division of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, who commented that the "looming question is whether what we're seeing is just a short-term effect of long-term restoration." The first link will take visitors to an article from this Tuesday's New York Times on the oysters of Chesapeake Bay, complete with a video of these oyster reefs and a podcast. The second link leads visitors to a recent post from Discover Magazine's "80 Beats" weblog which contains additional relevant news coverage and links to other oyster stories. Moving on, the third link leads to a news article from the Hagerstown Herald-Mail that profiles local inmates who are making oyster cages which will help restore Chesapeake Bay. The fourth link leads to a post from the Economist's "Green.view" blog. This post talks about the more optimistic findings of Boris Worm, a marine biologist who has been studying existing fish stocks around the world. The fifth link will whisk users away to the Maryland Sea Grant's special website about the oysters of the Chesapeake Bay, complete with information on other native species, like Maryland blue crabs, algae, and different finfish. The final link will take users to the rather handy Oyster Guide, created by author and oyster expert Rowan Jacobsen. Here visitors can learn about various oyster regions and appellations from across North America.