Once known as "white gold," Crassostrea virginica, also known as the eastern or Atlantic oyster, was once so abundant in the Chesapeake Bay that when Captain John Smith arrived in the early seventeenth century, he wrote that their reefs were a danger to navigation in the often shallow bay water.
During the colonial period, the large fish, crab, and oyster catches made the Maryland colony quite prosperous. The bay also became an important center for shipbuilding and port activities, and the roads were literally paved on oysters because oyster shells were converted into lime and used for fill.
During the nineteenth century, watermen pulled between nine and 14 million bushels from the Maryland waters of the bay. By 1973, however, that same harvest had declined to 3.2 million bushels and the 2004 harvest reached a record low of 26,471 bushels.
What has caused this decline? And can the state’s oyster industry and the people who depend on it ever recover?
Changing Techniques: From Hand Tongs to Dredges
The Powhatan tribes native to Maryland harvested oysters by wading into the water and picking them up off the oyster reef (or bar), a technique that they introduced to the early colonists. As the oyster’s popularity as a food increased and more oysters were needed, harvesting required going farther out into the Bay.
The first boats used for harvesting were log canoes, modeled on those of the native tribes. Hand tongs, long scissor-like tools with metal rakes on the ends, were developed for harvesting. The fisherman would stand on the side of his boat, open the tongs, and reaching to the bottom of the river, scoop the oysters between the rakes. As the oyster industry grew, so did the size of the log canoes, their hulls reaching 30-40 feet in length. Hand tonging was gradually replaced with patent tongs, which enabled more oysters to be harvested more quickly. Larger than hand tongs and hinged so they opened when lowered and closed when lifted, patent tongs were attached to a cable, which was in turn lowered and raised by a motor.
It was the dredge, however, that completely changed the Chesapeake Bay oyster industry. The oyster dredge had been developed in New England. When Chesapeake Bay watermen, who had been tonging for oysters, saw the number that could be brought in by the dredge, they quickly adopted the method, and its use was legalized in 1854.
From the beginning, however, both oystermen and the state government understood that dredging destroyed the oyster beds and prevented small oysters from growing. So by 1865, laws were passed in Maryland that permitted dredging by sail power alone.
Skipjacks
By this time, the old log canoes had given way to sailing vessels--the most famous of which may be the skipjack--powerful enough to drag a dredge across oyster beds and large enough to carry big catches to the buyboats, the large vessels that cruised up and down the Bay, buying the daily catch from working boats, then taking it to market. Today only 5 to 10 skipjacks continue to dredge for oysters. This nearly flat-bottomed workboat was designed for the shallow Chesapeake Bay and has become a symbol of the bay.
By the early 1900s, watermen had largely abandoned sail power for the internal combustion engine, and the "box stern" workboat became the most widely used type of workboat on the Chesapeake Bay. The design permitted more room on board and greater stability on the water. Most of the newer boats are fiberglass, but many old wooden ones are still working.
Oysters have always been sorted for eating: smaller ones are set aside to be eaten raw usually on the half-shell; "culls," or medium-sized oysters, are shucked and packaged; and large or "box" oysters are reserved for frying.
Demand for oysters continued to grow and, once dredging began on deep channel reefs in the 1870s and 1880s, harvesting capacity expanded, as well. Between 1880 and 1930, however, harvests declined by nearly 60 percent, then were fairly stable from 1930 through the 1970s.
Problem: Overharvesting
From early on, the industry has had its share of problems. After the New England oyster industry collapsed because of overharvesting, the state of Maryland acted in 1865 to prevent oyster beds from unrestricted harvesting through a statewide licensing system, seasonal restrictions and gear limitations (for example, the prohibiting of steamboats or steam machinery for harvesting). Oysters could be legally harvested only when they reached three inches in length or about three years of age.
Yet by 1875, harvests dropped to about 10 million bushels, so the General Assembly called for an assessment of the state's oyster reserves. The resulting two-year study showed oyster stocks depleted from the previous thirty years and recommended that the state lease large tracts of Chesapeake Bay grounds to encourage private oyster farming.
Controversy: Private Oyster Farming and Leasing
For a while, oyster aquaculture was promoted as the only way to save the oyster in Maryland. Proponents believed that oyster farming would benefit not only private owners but the public beds, as well, because free-swimming spawn would eventually settle on public bars near private ones.
But most Maryland watermen opposed the idea of bay waters in private hands. This opposition was particularly strong in the Tidewater counties. The watermen were successful in lobbying the General Assembly against repeated legislative attempts to permit leasing in the state.
However, as harvests continued to decline at the turn of the twentieth century and packing houses went broke, demands for state action increased, resulting in passage of the Haman Oyster Act of 1906. This legislation allowed private planters to lease many acres in various parts of the bay and its tributaries for periods of 20 years, and remains the basis for oyster farming in Maryland today.
But watermen continued to oppose leasing, fearing the industry would become corporate and that the watermen would lose their independence, even though the Haman bill specifically prohibited corporations from leasing oyster bottom. The opposition was so strong that, between 1952 and 1973, six Eastern Shore counties were able to stop the Department of Natural Resources from leasing any new grounds.
Despite the general opposition, some oystermen did buy leases in the Nanticoke, the Wicomico, the Potomac, and other bay tributaries. But poaching was and still is a problem. Oystermen say that unless a waterman lives where his leased beds are and can keep an eye on them, the oysters will be stolen.
State support has largely been for conserving and rehabilitating public beds, regulating catch sizes, limiting harvests, and restricting what gear oystermen can use. This has made leasing of lands to private hands a difficult proposition.
Life of the Oystermen: An Ever-Changing Scene
Most watermen on the Chesapeake Bay are independent fishermen who own their own boats and equipment and sell their catch to various wholesale seafood houses. Most live in small waterfront communities, some of which have changed very little through the years. This is especially true of the islands, such as Tangier and Smith, whose residents still speak a dialect resembling the speech of early colonists.
The harvesting, shucking, packing, and shipping were the mainstay of economic life in dozens of waterside towns and on half a dozen small islands. The season for oystering--running from about September through April--combined with fishing and crabbing during the rest of the year, provided support for thousands in small communities around the bay, with one generation following the next onto the water.
By the 1980s, however, due to overharvesting, disease, and pollution, oyster harvests were down, and this way of life was endangered. Today, to make a living, many watermen must have “land” jobs, as well. Although a bushel of oysters in 2001 was worth more than three times the 1975 value, these prices were not enough to offset poor harvests; and oystermen have been caught between falling revenues and rising costs.
The number of license holders has dropped 42 percent in Maryland since 1980. In 1997, there were only 11 processing plants, a 65 percent drop from 1974. Even in 1974, however, an experienced shucker could only earn about $40.00/day ($1.50 per gallon of oysters, 26 gallons a day). In fact, the industry had been affected by falling employment ever since World War II, when higher-paying jobs became available in Southern Maryland.
Prior to the 1980s, oystering was still the most important fishery on the Bay. Ironically, however, the oyster fishery, even today, does provide income for some Maryland watermen because there is no other fishing during the winter months. Most watermen own the gear required for both crabbing and oystering, and re-rigging boats does not require a great deal of work.
Being able to dredge or tong for oysters, even in small amounts, is an important part of the cultural heritage of tidewater communities. It is a way of life that fostered self-reliance and individualism.
Why are the Chesapeake Bay Oysters in Decline?
It is generally agreed that the decline in the native oyster populations in the Chesapeake Bay is the result of several factors, including:
- years of overharvesting during the nineteenth century (when large numbers of oyster shells were scraped from the bottom, habitat and potential sites for young oysters to settle was destroyed);
- the effect of two parasites--MSX (Haplosporidium nelsoni) and Dermo (Perkinsus marinus)--that has become worse because of increased salinity levels throughout the bay associated with years of below-average rainfall;
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loss of habitat due to pollution (metals, agricultural runoff, forestry activities, etc.);
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and natural predators.
In addition, oysters filter impurities out of the water. In colonial times, it was estimated that the millions of oysters in the bay could filter the entire water body in about three days. Today, with the reduced numbers, the equivalent filtering process takes a year. This reduced filtering capacity has a further negative affect on the water quality of the bay.
What Is Being Done to Restore the Oyster Population?
By the early 1990s, watermen, seafood packers, state managers, scientists, and environmental organizations had begun planning joint restoration efforts. With federal funding, Maryland and Virginia launched a program designed to increase the number of new oysters by rebuilding the oyster commons.
Hatcheries run by the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Laboratory and the Department of Natural Resources have been producing disease-free oyster spat. Organizations such as The Oyster Recovery Partnership and The Chesapeake Bay Foundation have been teaching volunteers how to grow oysters.
Another proposal to replenish the oyster population is to introduce a nonnative species into the Chesapeake, one resistant to the diseases MSX and Dermo. Maryland is investing $1.7 million in research on the Crassostrea ariakensis, native to China, which is fast-growing and said to be very resilient.
Though initial results are promising, there are still many unanswered questions, such as whether C. ariakensis will also prove vulnerable to MSX and Dermo, whether the new species will out-compete the native oysters completely, and what other effects C. ariakensis may have on the ecology of the bay.
Experts across the country concluded in late 2004 that at least four more years of research are needed to fully assess the risks and benefits of introducing a new species, a time frame similar to the one proposed by the National Academy of Sciences in a report released Summer 2004.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which ultimately has the authority to make the introduction, targeted March 2005 to make a decision, saying it would not proceed if scientists didn’t believe it would be safe. In June 2006, the Maryland state government again delayed a decision, citing the need for more research.
In addition to introducing a new species, other alternatives include ending oyster harvests in the Chesapeake Bay for a time, stepping up native oyster restoration efforts, limiting C. ariakensis to aquaculture by using sterile oysters, or promoting increased aquaculture with native oysters.
The years 2005 and 2006 saw larger catches. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources reported that by March 2006, 133,000 bushels were harvested, up from 72,218 bushels in 2005. Scientists attributed the increased harvest to three years of higher than average rainfall, which has the effect of flushing the bay of its parasites. While the news is encouraging, to revive the industry substantially will take a concerted effort from scientists, the state, and the oystermen themselves.
Timeline: 1885-1890
Maryland’s oyster harvest peaks at 15 million bushels. Some 32,000 Marylanders earn their livings in the oyster industry.
1982-1983
Disease drops harvests to about 1.5 million bushels, a 28 percent decline from the previous season.
1985-1986
The last season of harvests above one million bushels. Two thousand to 3,000 oystermen are still active.
2003-2004
The harvest is down to 26,471 bushels in 2004. Only 273 oystermen are active that year, down from 521 in 2003 and 1,265 in 2001. Since 1993, oyster processing plants have dropped from 30 to 3.
2004, February
First Crassostrea ariakensis (non-indigenous Asian oyster) trials in the Bay. University of Maryland Center runs tests of 1,300 Crassostrea virginica and 1,300 C. ariakensis in cages at three locations.
2005, March
Maryland’s governor Robert Ehrlich’s target date for making a decision about breeding C. ariakensis in Chesapeake Bay.
2006, June
Maryland’s governor Robert Ehrlich postpones the decision about breeding C. ariakensis in the Chesapeake Bay for another year. His office cites the need for further research.
—Lea Susan Chartock
Takoma Park, Md.
Further Reading
Jordan, Stephen J., Kelly N. Greenhawk, Carol B. McCollough and Mark L. Homer. Chesapeake Bay Oysters: Trends In Relative Abundance and Biomass. Annapolis: State Department of Natural Resources, 2002.
MacKenzie, Jr Clyde L. “History of oystering in the United States and Canada, featuring the eight greatest oyster estuaries.” Maine Fisheries Review 58 (4): 1-79. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3089/is_n4_v58/ai_19847493
The Ocean Studies Board. Non-native Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press, 2004. http://books.nap.edu/books/0309090520/html/index.html
de Gast, Robert, author and photographer. The Oystermen of the Chesapeake. Camden, Maine: International Marine Publishing Company, 1970.
Brooks, William K. The Oyster. Introduction by Kennedy T. Paynter Jr. Maryland Paperback Bookshelf. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
