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Md. has its worst-ever oyster harvest
Fishery called 'virtually nonexistent'
By GRETCHEN PARKER
Associated Press
04/22/2004
ANNAPOLIS -- The once bountiful oyster reefs of the Chesapeake Bay yielded Maryland's worst-ever harvest this season, the secretary of the Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday.
Oystermen pulled in 15,000 to 18,000 bushels in the six-month season that ended last week, about a third of the previous record-low harvest of 53,000 bushels set last year.
The dismal catch led Mike Slattery, assistant DNR secretary, to proclaim Maryland's oyster fishery as "virtually nonexistent." Officials now believe the few oysters that were harvested grew from some of the millions of seeds scattered every year by the department scientists.
"Those oysters that were caught this year likely were the ones put in the water as part of our replenishment program," Slattery said. "What we have is essentially a put-and-take oyster fishery in Maryland."
A DNR survey in November estimated about 70 harvesters worked in Maryland's part of the bay and its tributaries, down from 437 harvesters last year and 2,500 in 1999.
"There wasn't that many people working. And the others didn't catch much," said Larry Simns, president of the Maryland Watermen's Association.
DNR added two weeks onto the season after a harsh winter to allow watermen to scrape the reefs a while longer.
Oystermen pay about $300 in license fees to gather oysters. But the low hauls caused about half of the licensed oystermen to give up on oysters and return to crabbing, Simns said.
Many gave up on their season soon after it opened Oct. 1, when they couldn't find enough legal-sized oysters to make a living, state scientists said.
Fifty years ago, Chesapeake watermen harvested a quarter of the oysters gathered nationwide. Maryland's harvest fell off rapidly in the 1980s and dropped to an all-time low last year, accounting for less than 2 percent of the nation's total.
Wednesday's news caused Simns and DNR Secretary Ron Franks to renew their calls for introducing nonnative oysters into the bay. The rugged Asian oysters are larger than native Chesapeake oysters, grow faster and reportedly are resistant to the diseases that plague the bay.
"As far as this agency is concerned," Asian oysters and restoring bay grasses are the Chesapeake's best hope for getting back a healthy ecosystem, Franks said.
In the early 1900s, the healthy reefs acted as lungs for the bay, filtering a volume of water equal to the bay about every three days.
"We need to restore the population that filters that water, because right now that water is filtered only about every three years," Franks said. "That's simply not enough water to give us a vibrant, healthy ecosystem."
Fishery called 'virtually nonexistent'
By GRETCHEN PARKER
Associated Press
04/22/2004
ANNAPOLIS -- The once bountiful oyster reefs of the Chesapeake Bay yielded Maryland's worst-ever harvest this season, the secretary of the Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday.
Oystermen pulled in 15,000 to 18,000 bushels in the six-month season that ended last week, about a third of the previous record-low harvest of 53,000 bushels set last year.
The dismal catch led Mike Slattery, assistant DNR secretary, to proclaim Maryland's oyster fishery as "virtually nonexistent." Officials now believe the few oysters that were harvested grew from some of the millions of seeds scattered every year by the department scientists.
"Those oysters that were caught this year likely were the ones put in the water as part of our replenishment program," Slattery said. "What we have is essentially a put-and-take oyster fishery in Maryland."
A DNR survey in November estimated about 70 harvesters worked in Maryland's part of the bay and its tributaries, down from 437 harvesters last year and 2,500 in 1999.
"There wasn't that many people working. And the others didn't catch much," said Larry Simns, president of the Maryland Watermen's Association.
DNR added two weeks onto the season after a harsh winter to allow watermen to scrape the reefs a while longer.
Oystermen pay about $300 in license fees to gather oysters. But the low hauls caused about half of the licensed oystermen to give up on oysters and return to crabbing, Simns said.
Many gave up on their season soon after it opened Oct. 1, when they couldn't find enough legal-sized oysters to make a living, state scientists said.
Fifty years ago, Chesapeake watermen harvested a quarter of the oysters gathered nationwide. Maryland's harvest fell off rapidly in the 1980s and dropped to an all-time low last year, accounting for less than 2 percent of the nation's total.
Wednesday's news caused Simns and DNR Secretary Ron Franks to renew their calls for introducing nonnative oysters into the bay. The rugged Asian oysters are larger than native Chesapeake oysters, grow faster and reportedly are resistant to the diseases that plague the bay.
"As far as this agency is concerned," Asian oysters and restoring bay grasses are the Chesapeake's best hope for getting back a healthy ecosystem, Franks said.
In the early 1900s, the healthy reefs acted as lungs for the bay, filtering a volume of water equal to the bay about every three days.
"We need to restore the population that filters that water, because right now that water is filtered only about every three years," Franks said. "That's simply not enough water to give us a vibrant, healthy ecosystem."
