It's oyster season, and Wendell Haynie, an 11th-generation Virginia waterman, recalls a time when Chesapeake Bay oysters were so plentiful that folks would eat them three to four times a week.

How to Make ‘Chesapeake Bay Love Story Sauce' Published May 8, 2017 • Updated on May 8, 2017 at 1:40 pm • Updated on May 8, 2017 at 1:40 pm ...

Customer’s Kelly Bohn, left and Beth Vorsteg eat half a dozen Skipjack oysters at O’Brien’s Oyster Bar and Seafood. The Chesapeake Bay oyster harvest is the best since the 1980s.

But these vital organs of the Chesapeake need some assistance to repopulate at the rate needed to keep the bay clean. Around 25,000 adult oysters a year are rotated through spawning tables.