A taste of the bay: Maryland’s Chesapeake Oyster week begins
SNOW HILL, Md. — It is Maryland’s Chesapeake Oyster Week. Officials said the occasion helps support Maryland’s watermen and the growing seafood industry.
Dan Worrell, owner of Fallen Pine Oyster Co., said: “We are counting out Maryland wild oysters to support our local watermen. Behind me, we are also growing salty oysters in the Chincoteague Bay of Maryland.”
Worrell, also known as “Dan the Oyster Man,” said they are celebrating Chesapeake oyster culture in Maryland and that, with the tough winter, this week is especially important.
“We had a loss of market early in the season, with the season being extended. It gives us a chance to make some money and get back in the swing of things as we head into crab season and summer, when everybody comes down to the beach,” he said. “If you don’t have a good oyster season, it is hard to have a good crab season. If you don’t have a good crab season, it is hard to have a good oyster season. It all works together and moves each job into the next season.”
With oysters taking two to three years to grow before they are served on the raw bar, every season is crucial.
“If that oyster ends up on your plate, it has gone through everything. They are extremely resilient. They have made it through two tough winters and a couple of tough summers, and they are going to end up on your plate very soon,” Worrell said.
For Chesapeake Oyster Week, the oysters are wild, so they are left alone.
“With the wild season, you don’t want to interrupt the natural cycle of oyster spawn. While they are spawning, we leave them alone and come back to them in October, when they are plump and great to eat — nice and salty.”
Although the oysters taste the same, farm-grown oysters look slightly different.
“They grow the same way. They sit out here in the water column. We have them in floats inside cages. Those cages are not meant to capture them, they are meant to protect them. We plant them out here, and we know exactly where they are. We can come back to them at any time of year and harvest.”
Allison Albert Guercio of the Oyster Recovery Partnership said Chesapeake Oyster Week is a key way to support the organization’s restoration efforts.
“They go through about a yearlong process where they are aged, cleaned and seeded with new oyster larvae. The larvae attach to the shell — we call them spat on shell. They are loaded onto a boat and planted back in the Chesapeake Bay,” she said.
Over 33 years, the organization has planted more than 14 billion oysters on 3,000 acres of reef, rebuilding reefs and supporting the community.
“By eating oysters that are sourced locally, you are supporting watermen, farmers, bay-friendly businesses, seafood restaurants and processors. You are also supporting oyster restoration efforts,” Albert Guercio said. “We tell people to eat oysters, recycle shells and tell your friends. Even if you don’t like eating oysters, you can still spread the word. There is a role for everyone in Chesapeake Oyster Week.”
Fallen Pine Oyster Co. is a local Eastern Shore oyster farm, and it will be participating in events across Maryland this week. The farm is working overtime in Snow Hill to prepare Maryland wild oysters.
The company is shipping wild oysters to businesses across the region while preparing its own oysters in the Chincoteague Bay. Its oysters will be featured at Snow Hill’s 15th annual oyster roast Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m., where local oysters will be prepared a dozen ways. The farm will also travel across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for additional events.
“You can get oysters from Fallen Pine Oyster Company at Game Day Firehouse near Camden Yards on Thursday for opening day. We will be there all day outside. Come see us. Go O’s,” Worrell said.
