Saturday, February 11, 2012

Our Say: Aquaculture part of a better approach to restoring oysters

Published 03/11/09

Albert Einstein supposedly defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." This is a pretty good summary of the state's policy on restoring oysters to the Chesapeake Bay.

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The state has been doggedly trying to revive populations of the disease-enfeebled native oysters to accomplish two goals:

To have the oysters - perhaps the greatest natural filter known to man - improve the bay's water quality.

To maintain some remnant of the traditional oyster fishery.

Unfortunately, these goals conflict. So far the state's dogged efforts to rebuild and reseed...

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Thrown in the towel - 2009-03-17 19:50:40

Does this mean we are throwing in the towel in the fight to restore the Bay to at least a fraction of what it was before we killed it ?

Why don't we just leave the bay alone for ONE YEAR and see what the ecosystem can do to regain its equilibrium?

Long term view my friends, there is no quick answers to the problems mankind has created

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Tina Schubbie - annapolis, MD - Karma: Bad

Maryland Oystermen - 2009-03-17 17:56:49

I wish to comment on this subject, first and for most the oystermen of the state of Maryland are not the cause of the decline in oysters. Is it possible that special interest groups have pressured the DNR to all but abandon the seed/shell repletion program in Maryland? If so then why and for what purpose? The state of New Jersey built their oyster stocks back using Maryland's very model. Oystermen provide the very infrastructure required by the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) and the DNR for oyster bar cleaning and associated services, so what good does imposing an oyster harvest mortorium do? It makes no sense for oystermen to maintain boats, gear and a crew for just special projects during the year? Our official opinion is if the state of Maryland is serious about repletion and resortation of oysters then it'll take a combination of three approaches, the seed/shell repletion program, aquaculture and some Horn Point work. There is no single effort that will restore oysters in Maryland.

Thanks,
Jim Mullin
Executive Director
Maryland Oystermen Ass.
(as the saying goes)
It's a big bay and there's room for everybody www.mdoystermen.org

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James M. - Earleville, MD - Karma: Neutral

oyster farming - 2009-03-13 11:28:01

Having worked on a fully functioning oyster farm in southern maryland, and currently seeking my Master's degree in aquaculture, I have learned a lot about this and am now a major proponent of oyster aquaculture and think it could very dramatically help water quality and the wild oyster population.
Where does the above statement "oysters raised in this way aren't going to directly help water quality" come from? That is simply not true! Cultured oysters are living in and filtering the waters just the same as wild oysters on natural reefs (up to 50 gallons per oyster per day)! Plus, growing them in culture systems like floating rafts allows them to survive much better and filter out a lot more algae than they could on a natural reef lower in the water column. The Bay is so turbid that their food source- algae- lives only in the upper level of the water nowadays.
Multiple scientific studies also report that oyster aquaculture gear supports biodiversity (of shrimp, small fish, crabs, etc.) that is similar or HIGHER than natural reefs! One oyster bag would shelter up to 200 grass shrimp, just in my own experience! All these little creatures provide food for the bigger sportfish, and the oyster floats are a thriving ecosystem.
In the summer time, the thousands of oysters in our floats would spawn, naturally releasing their eggs and sperm into the Bay's waters. The resulting larval oysters are carried by the tides and currents to settle as "wild" oysters all over the Bay! So not only do these farms provide habitat, clean the water, and produce oysters for the table, but they also help restore wild populations (with strains that have been selected to survive among the oyster diseases that are ubiquitous in the Bay nowadays, as a bonus).
Also in the summers, our floats would be just covered with mating pairs of blue crabs, who took advantage of the nooks and crannies of the gear to shelter in and get a little privacy.
All citizens of Maryland can help out by buying your own oyster floats to raise at your own dock, too, with a full tax refund!
www.oysterranching.com
(and i don't work there anymore, by the way, i just think it is a wonderful thing for the bay, for the oysters, and for supper!
any questions feel free to reach me at
andrewtmcdonald@gmail.com
thanks for reading!

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andy mcdonald - frankfort, KY - Karma: Neutral