Five Fun Facts About Oysters

One mollusk can filter 10 to 50 gallons of water per day. They primarily consume algae as that water moves their shells. This is critical because too much algae prevents sunlight from reaching the bottom of the waterway, hampering the growth of underwater grasses. The plants stabilize habitat, reduce erosion, absorb harmful nitrogen and add more dissolved oxygen to the water.

There were once so many oysters that they could filter the entire Chesapeake Bay in three days, says Will Smiley, our resident ecologist. Through our on-site ecology efforts, the Tides Inn has grown and planted 1.4 million oysters to help rehabilitate Carter’s Creek and the Rappahannock River.

Oysters are valuable members of a reef ecosystem and set the foundation for other organisms, including barnacles and other shellfish, to settle. The Bay’s iconic blue crabs find safe haven from predators in these reefs, too: When they shed their shells, they become soft crabs—easy prey if they don’t have a place to hide, like among underwater grass beds. “If we can grow enough oysters to make underwater grass come back, we will be helping the blue crab population,” explains Smiley. “The more species you have in an ecosystem and the more each one has its own niche, the healthier the ecosystem can be.”

Small but mighty, oysters are packed with vitamins and minerals. They’re high in protein but low in calories; contain zinc, vitamin B12, iron, magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids.