Restoration

The Virginia Health Department has reopened portions of the Lynnhaven River to oyster harvesting for the first time in a generation. If you are an oyster fan, this is very, very good news.

The state Health Department will open more than 1,450 acres of the Lynnhaven River to oyster and clam harvesting this month, including sections of Linkhorn Bay that have been closed due to pollution since 1930.

City officials and environmentalists heralded the announcement Tuesday as proof that years of cleaning up the Lynnhaven are finally paying off.

“Where’s the champagne?” asked a smiling Andrew Fine, co-founder of the environmental group Lynnhaven River Now. “This is just fabulous news.”

Indeed. Oysters from my neck of the woods are, IMHO, among the best in the world. The folks around here take no small amount of pride in that fact. I am no alone when I say that there are few things that I love more than a fresh out of the water Eastern oyster from the York River or Gloucester Point. People, that is good eating.