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Volunteers and community partners kick off 13th season with ceremonial cage drop and the new Electric Spat Mobile
Maryland 2025 - The Baltimore Oyster Partnership, a joint initiative between the Waterfront Partnership's Healthy Harbor Initiative and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), kicked off its 13th season of oyster restoration with a celebratory press event at Harbor East Marina on August 26, 2025, announcing a bold new goal: planting 5 million oysters in the Baltimore Harbor by 2030.
Volunteers, program partners, community leaders, and Poe, the Baltimore Ravens mascot, joined the ceremonial dropping of the first oyster cage of the season, marking the start of a new year of hands-on restoration. The event also introduced the Partnership’s brand-new Electric Spat Mobile, a colorful electric truck that will transport oysters and supplies throughout the city.
“It’s incredible to see how far this program has come,” said Adam Lindquist, Vice President of Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, and head of the Healthy Harbor Initiative. “From just a handful of volunteers 13 years ago to thousands of oysters being planted every season, Baltimoreans are showing that community-driven restoration works. With 5 million oysters on the horizon, we’re doubling down on our commitment to a cleaner, healthier Harbor.”
Oysters are more than a Chesapeake Bay icon—they’re natural water filters, with each adult oyster capable of cleaning up to 50 gallons of water per day. They also provide critical habitat for fish, crabs and other Bay species, increasing biodiversity and helping restore the Harbor’s ecosystem.
During the 2024–2025 season, volunteers helped plant 417,059 spat, a combined total from the Waterfront Partnership and CBF efforts. Since the program began in 2013, more than 2 million oysters have been raised and planted at the Fort Carroll oyster sanctuary reef in the Patapsco River.
“This milestone isn’t just about oysters. It’s about people,” said Carmera Thomas-Wilhite, CBF Vice President for Communities & Partnerships and board member at Waterfront Partnership. “This program fills a need in our community—a need for cleaner water, hands-on environmental stewardship, and opportunities to see the impact of people’s efforts, firsthand.”
The program also welcomed a new partner this year: the Baltimore Ravens and the Stephen and Renee Bisciotti Foundation, joining downtown businesses, marinas, and nonprofits including the Downtown Sailing Center and Living Classrooms Foundation.
Volunteers remain the heart of the program. They assemble cages, add spat, record data, and tend to oysters as they grow in the Harbor. More than 1,000 volunteers are expected to participate this year, most Saturdays, continuing Baltimore’s largest community-driven oyster restoration effort.
“The oysters we grow in Baltimore stay in Baltimore,” said CBF Maryland Oyster Restoration Coordinator Kellie Fiala. “That’s because we want the thousands of volunteers who dedicate countless hours to benefit from the cleaner water and healthier ecosystems that oysters can provide.”
“Every oyster we plant is a step toward a healthier, more vibrant Harbor,” said Dan Taylor, President of Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore. “We’re thrilled to celebrate what’s been accomplished and to look ahead at the millions of oysters—and volunteers—still to come.”
The press event concluded with speakers and volunteers lowering 10 cages, each filled with baby oysters, into the Harbor, officially launching the 2025–2026 oyster season.
