Raising Oysters at Horn Point Lab
To download the activity page, click here.
The Oyster Hatchery at Horn Point Laboratory is the largest oyster hatchery on the East Coast, producing oyster larvae for use in oyster research, oyster restoration, and educational projects. The Aquaculture and Restoration Ecology Laboratory (AREL) was constructed to replace the old oyster hatchery. This state-of-the-art facility has allowed us to greatly expand the capacity for oyster production here at Horn Point. It has provided controlled environmental facilities needed to advance oyster culture and disease research.
Since opening in 2003, we have been able to increase oyster production to over 350 million spat on shell being produced and planted in the Bay in 2006. As this new oyster culture facility becomes more sophisticated, we hope we can produce over one billion spat on shell annually for the restoration of oysters for the Chesapeake Bay.
The Horn Point Laboratory (HPL), located on more than 800 acres on the banks of the Choptank River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, has advanced society’s understanding of the world’s estuarine and ocean ecosystems. Horn Point scientists are widely respected for their interdisciplinary programs in oceanography, water quality, restoration of seagrasses, marshes and shellfish and for expertise in ecosystem modeling.
With ongoing research programs spanning from the estuarine waters of the Chesapeake Bay to the open waters of the world’s oceans, Horn Point is a national leader in applying environmental research and discovery to solve society’s most pressing environmental problems.
For an activity book including oyster coloring pages, a wordsearch, and crossword, click here.
