On the Bay

Runoff water from storms is one of the leading causes of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. James Hunter, Ph.D., a professor at Morgan State University, intends to change that with a special project.

Amidst a constantly changing political scene, the environment and the policies set to solve conservation and restoration challenges seem to have earned a place at the top of many people’s priorities in recent years.

Once considered little more than nuisances to progress, marshes across the United States have been filled in and paved over to make room for important projects, such as JFK International Airport in Queens or, say, the city of Miami.

You may have heard people say oysters were once able to filter the whole Chesapeake Bay in three days. Though that is merely a figure of speech, oysters have long been known to filter bodies of water. But there is another type of bivalve mollusk that is known to provide the same service, and is gaining in popularity in fresher water. The mussel is that particular mollusk.

Maryland’s oyster aquaculture harvest so far this year has already exceeded last year’s, despite a deluge of fresh water from storms that scientists and managers worried would stymie growth.