Wildlife of the James

Oysters of the James

The eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) once graced the lower James River in such numbers that the English colonists had to steer their ships around the great reefs of this bivalve mollusk. The oysters of the James remained famously productive into the twentieth century. “The bottom of the James River is one enormous oyster-bed,” wrote a New York Times reporter sailing with an oystering schooner in 1880. “From its mouth for 20 miles up, it is nothing more or less than a natural oyster-bed. Go anywhere in it you may and push to the bottom a pair of oyster-tongs, bring them together, and lift them out of the water, and you will catch oysters.” Oysters were protected by Virginia law from dredging operations. As oyster tongs were useful only in shallower waters, the James retained its vital oyster stock. With the population thus preserved, the James served as a source of spat, or young oysters, for planting into waters throughout the Chesapeake. Oysters supposedly hailing from famous points around the Bay were, “in most cases, natives of Virginia waters transported from the natural beds in the rough and planted” to grow to a harvestable size.  The Times reporter recounts watching 250 men in 100 small boats harvesting 10,000 bushels of oysters from one shoal in the course of a day. Oysters were plentiful and profitable.

Oysters aren’t only important to the people harvesting and eating them. The Lower James and Chesapeake ecosystems have historically benefitted from the water quality and habitat improvements offered by the oyster. As an oyster feeds, it filters up to 50 gallons of water every day. A healthy population of oysters not only keeps its own habitat clean with this filtering, but also provides habitat for many other species of fish and invertebrates. Large reefs of living and dead oysters make for diverse and protected homes for small animals which in turn feed other species of economic importance such as striped bass and blue crab.

Declining water quality, disease, and overharvesting have taken their toll on oysters in the James. With increased erosion in the James River watershed came the loss of hard river-bottom habitat needed for oysters to thrive. Nutrient and toxic pollution has stressed oyster populations as well.  Stressed oysters are more prone to succumb to two oyster diseases, known as MSX and Dermo, which are caused by single-cell parasites.
The decline of oysters to less than 5% of their historic population has been a sad chapter in the history of the James and the Bay. Today efforts to improve water quality, manage harvest sustainably, and restock oyster beds are critical steps to restore the oysters of the James River and the essential services they provide.

Learn more:

Read the complete “Oysters of the James” article from the May 16, 1880 New York Times
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9800E4D7173FEE3ABC4E52DFB366838B699FDE

Learn about Oyster Gardening from the Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality
www.deq.state.va.us/coastal/gardening.html

Learn about Oyster Ecology and Restoration Efforts
http://web.vims.edu/mollusc/admin/mepover.htm