Endangered mussels return to Richmond-area waters

Driving the news: Last week, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, along with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, planted 750 tagged alewife floaters in Hanover's South Anna River.

• It was the foundation's first-ever mussel planting, aimed at returning the species to the river.
• Alewife floaters, and the other 18 mussel species found in Bay watersheds, are bottom dwellers and filter feeders, making them crucial to the local water quality.

Zoom in: The removal of the century-old Ashland Mill Dam in 2024, which blocked fish passage and eradicated the species above it, paved the way for the return of alewife floaters to South Anna River.

• They can be found in the James, but are considered endangered, per the James River Association, which has been planting alewife floaters in the river for years as part of its mussel restoration efforts.

Fun fact: Alewife floaters were an important food source for Native Americans, according to the foundation's senior scientist for Virginia Joe Wood.

Yes, but: It's "technically illegal to eat them," today, Wood says.

• "We've heard they taste like mud," he adds.
• "They are not poisonous, but because of their imperiled status, there is not an allowable harvest."

What's next: Long known for its oyster restoration work, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is increasingly focusing on mussels.

• Last year, it revised the watershed agreement that steers its Bay cleanup efforts to include mussel conservation for the first time.