The salinity of Chesapeake Bay is ideal for oysters and some time ago it was thought that oyster fishery was the bay's most commercially viable industry. However, in the past half century, the number of oyster reefs decreased from 220,000 acres to only 40,000 acres today. The primary reason was commercial overfishing. However, diseases such as MSX and Dermo, as well as the increasing pollution into the bay completed the oysters' demise. Some efforts were made to recover the oyster population, but they had mixed results.
In the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, oysters are filter feeder keystone species, and they provide habitats for other organisms.
38°34'26.04"N
76°23'54.85"W
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