Chris Judy, of the Shellfish Program of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, delivers oysters to Herald Harbor, on the Severn River. All photos by Kimberly Benson.

It’s oyster season in Maryland: not for oyster eaters, but for oyster growers. Yesterday was the first day of delivery of young oysters – oyster spat – to residents along the Severn River who are participating in the state’s Marylanders Grow Oysters program. More oyster spat were to be delivered today and Monday.

Participants sign up to grow oysters in their back yards – from their docks – over nine months. At the end of the nine months, the oyster cages will be retrieved from the water and adult oysters will be placed on oyster bars in each of the respective rivers.

The program is aimed at boosting the Chesapeake Bay’s decimated oyster population and cleaning the Bay’s polluted waters. A large oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day during warm months.

The project began last year in one location, the Tred Avon River, and this year expanded to include 11 Maryland rivers.

Reece and Kallan Benson (whose grandfather, Ray Dumentat, organized the delivery of the spat to the residents) get to know their new friends.

These photos were taken on Thursday at the Herald Harbor community, on the Severn River, where Chris Judy, of the Shellfish Program of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, delivered oyster spat to some very excited residents. The Severn River Association coordinated outreach to communities that were interested in participating in the program and the oyster spat was provided by the state.

Compared to other pets, keeping oysters doesn’t seem like too much of a chore, judging by the program’s website. No need to walk them, no litter box to change. They just need to be monitored for “fouling organisms” like algae and barnacles, which can be removed by pulling the cage up and down a few times in the water or “lightly scrubbing” it and rinsing with a hose.

The hardest part? It may be following the one firm rule of the program: Don’t eat your oysters.

By ANN LOLORDO

Ann LoLordo is a longtime Baltimore Sun reporter and editor.