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The company's oyster farms are located in the Yeocomico River, Potomac River, James River, Rappahannock River, and York River. [9] [16] In 2002, the company also helped to restore an oyster reef in the river. [17] The company also operates a seafood cannery and packing facility and is a research partner with the State of Virginia.
It serves as the research home for the Virginia Coast Reserve Long-Term Ecological Research Program. A new $2.5 million laboratory and housing facility was dedicated in on August 26, 2006. [1] The Center is located within the Virginia Coast Reserve, a biosphere reserve operated by the Nature Conservancy.
Ward Oyster Company is a cage oyster farm headquartered in Gloucester County, Virginia, and one of the largest cage oyster farms on the U.S. East Coast. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Established in 1986, the company sells 4 million oysters and tens of millions of larvae each year.
The company was founded in 1899 by James Croxton. [1] [5] [6] The company is currently operated by cousins Ryan and Travis Croxton, the great-grandsons of the founder.[7] [8] [9] The company harvests four oyster varieties, Rappahannocks, Stingrays, Snow Hills, Barcats, and Olde Salts, in addition to Olde Salt Clams.
ORP plants the native oyster, Crassostrea virginica, back into the Chesapeake Bay. [12] [13] [14] In 2022, the organization helped to plant over 950,000,000 oysters. [15]The organization also works to provide educational opportunities to shellfish farmers on best practices for managing their oyster farms and leases.
Additionally oyster beds provide cohabitation for mussels, barnacles, sea anemones and more. It has become a huge concern that the population of oyster reefs have been decreasing at a rapid rate. Many species are losing their habitat, animals are undergoing a decrease in food consumption and the ocean is experiencing less filtration.
Oyster shell reefs are another option when creating living shorelines. Oysters are critical in enhancing water quality and providing habitat to fish species, so creation of oyster reefs to decrease shoreline erosion rates have many added benefits. [ 6 ]
oyster research in the 1950s that was the seminal work on the ecology of these shellfish; juvenile fish and blue crab surveys in Chesapeake Bay began in 1955; these key fishery management tools continue today; annual shark survey [6] started in 1973, this is now the world's longest-running fishery independent shark survey;