Hampton River Oyster Grant to Bring One Million New Oysters and Engage Local Students and Community

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today awarded the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) a grant to restore oyster habitat in the Hampton River, providing key support to a community-oriented project that will advance understanding of a champion water filterer for the river.

The $494,701 in funds will enable the planting of one million baby oysters on two acres of newly created sanctuary oyster reefs along the 3.2-mile-long waterway within the densely populated city. CBF plans to engage many civic organizations, including building on CBF’s longstanding research partnership with Hampton University, a historically black university located along the banks of the Hampton River.

With the expected achievement of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement’s goal to restore six Virginia tributaries, this project marks a transition to large-scale, community-based oyster restoration work within historically underserved communities.

Over time, the reefs are anticipated to support an array of different species, additional recreational fishing opportunities, and help improve water quality in the Hampton River. 

Even though productive oyster leases were once maintained throughout the Hampton River, today the waterway’s aquatic life and recreational opportunities remain impaired. In the 1800s, hundreds of acres of natural oyster reefs called the Lower Bay home, supporting popular reef fish like speckled trout, black sea bass, and red drum. But decades of overharvesting, habitat destruction, poor water quality, and disease decimated the population of Bay oysters to a fraction of historic levels.

Engagement with students and the community will span multiple stages of the project from oyster planting, oyster shell recycling, and oyster reef construction, in part through participation and exploration on CBF’s cutting-edge mobile oyster restoration barge. 

This grant will complement CBF’s work on a living shoreline at the nearby Bluebird Gap Farm, as well as rain gardens at local schools and parks. It also comes after successful NFWF-funded oyster restoration work by CBF and partner Elizabeth River Project in the Lafayette River, which in 2018 was named the first tributary in Virginia to be restored for oysters. 

Because of oysters’ water-filtering capabilities, oyster restoration is a critical piece of the effort to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus pollutants entering the Chesapeake Bay. The grant announcement comes just months before Bay state leaders must confront the future course of Bay restoration, with many key 2025 restoration deadlines unlikely to be met by Bay states.

CBF Virginia Oyster Restoration Manager Jackie Shannon issued the following statement: 

“We are thrilled to be working in the Hampton River to bring these sanctuary reefs to the community, build on our research partnership with Hampton University, and help Hampton River oysters make a comeback, especially through the use of CBF’s unique oyster barge. With their water-filtering abilities, the one million oysters added to the river will not only improve water quality, but fishing and recreational opportunities for Hampton residents.

“These NFWF grant funds have been crucial in restoring Bay tributaries and helping the Bay become home to some of the largest oyster restoration projects in the world. We are excited to build on this momentum to get closer to the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance goal of adding 10 billion oysters to the Bay by 2025.”