They wanted to restore wild oyster reefs to the Maine coast. Could it be done?

MAINE MONITOR • August 18, 2026

Wild oysters were once prevalent along the coast of Maine, but had largely disappeared by the early 1900s, victims of overharvesting by European settlers, pollution and rising sea levels, which brought in cold water and predators. The state has been trying to re-establish oyster populations in Maine since the late 1940s, but they have struggled to take hold at scale. Wild oysters often don’t survive Maine’s harsh winters, succumbing to storms or ice. If they do survive, they still have to battle a growing number of invasive species, algae blooms and pollutants. For the past seven years, Cleaver has helped run The Basin Oyster Project, a collaboration initially started by The Nature Conservancy. The project’s long-term goal is to restore wild oysters up and down the Maine coast.