1.7 billion oysters put back into the Chesapeake Bay

MARYLAND – Maryland Governor Wes Moore announcing a record number of oysters planted in the Chesapeake Bay this year. Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Allison Colden and her organization say more than a billion oysters have been put back into the bay.

“This year, record planting of over 1.7 billion oysters to the Chesapeake Bay is an incredible boom to the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and ecology,” Colden said.

Both environmental advocates and watermen across the state of Maryland are benefiting from over a billion oysters being introduced to the watershed thanks to partnership of state, federal and non-profit organizations.

President of the Maryland Watermen Association Robert Brown said, “It’s all a plus for the seafood industry and the health of the bay.”

Colden says a single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day, meaning cleaner water and more wildlife in the bay.

Adding, oysters to the bay is a great option for reducing pollution, increasing clarity and also helping the habitat for fish and crabs, but oysters cannot do this alone.

Watermen say they will greatly benefit from these 1.7 billion juvenile oysters, but they won’t be ready for harvest for three to four years.

“We have to specialize in more than one category,” said Brown.

“If you catch some oysters, then you have to have some crabs to offset it,” said Robert Brown. If you crab, maybe you fish, but you have to diversify and swing from one industry to another.”

He says over the last few years, oysters harvests have hit an all time high of over 620,000 bushels.

“The most that we have caught in a season in the last 35 years,” Brown said. But this year may be different.

“This year is coming off a little slower, we have had some death rate in the lower bay and it is going to be,” said Brown “The season is going to be off from what it was last year.”

Despite this setback, watermen in Maryland are still hopeful for the season. “It is going to have a big economic impact on the waterman, not just on the Eastern Shore, but the whole bay itself,” said Brown.