The Herring Bay Sanctuary has eight historic oyster bars within the sanctuary boundaries. There are two sites in the sanctuary that have artificial reefs constructed by the Maryland Artificial Reef Initiative (MARI). Advocates for Herring Bay, a community-based environmental group, in partnership with other organizations planted spat-on-shell on a site within the sanctuary from 2019-2021. In 2022, they conducted a dive survey to evaluate the planting site. They found an average of 236 oyster per sqm. The department plans to plant spat-on-shell on 3.5 acres on Holland Point in 2023 as part of the small-scale restoration effort.

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