Chesapeake's Oyster Population Has Reached Rock Bottom

I asked about the Chesapeake Bay Agreement of 2000, which set a goal of increasing the oyster population in the bay tenfold over a baseline of 1994 by the year 2010. How was that going?

Seven years into the effort, "There's less oysters in the bay than we had then, according to the Department of Natural Resource's own biomass data," Baynard said. "We're going backwards. We couldn't reach that goal now if it rained oysters from the sky!"

The main problem, in his view, is that Maryland officials continue to operate on the theory that they can restore oysters and maintain a commercial fishery at the same time. "Those two goals," he says, "are incompatible."

But in truth, he doesn't believe oysters could be restored to anything like their one-time abundance even if commercial harvesting were halted. Oysters have tremendous reproductive capacity but require big, three-dimensional oyster bars as a substrate for their tiny offspring to attach to in order to grow, and those bars were destroyed years ago. Moreover, MSX and dermo are still out there lurking, waiting to pick off survivors as they reach maturity, if watermen don't get them first.

It's a bleak outlook and it isn't just Baynard's. Chris Judy, who monitors oysters for the state Department of Natural Resources, is no more optimistic. He reckons "the near-term prognosis is for a depressed population and a declining fishery," particularly after poor reproduction in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Is there any room for hope? "Well, there's a million people in Maryland that want to see oysters restored," said Baynard, plucking a number from the sky, "and we're not going to dissuade them. We need to do it, but it has to be done judiciously."

He believes the way to avoid the eventual collapse of natural oyster stocks is to offer "a new direction to commercial oystermen -- aquaculture."

The idea of maneuvering Maryland's fiercely independent watermen into a system in which instead of enjoying the right of free plunder on public bottom, they'd have to lease ground and raise their own oysters has been raised before but never went anywhere.

Baynard believes desperate times produce desperate measures, and even Judy concedes oyster aquaculture has more traction than it ever had. "There's more interest and commitment to it," he said.

Without major change, Baynard said, "The public oyster harvest in Maryland won't last many more years." His brow furrowed at the prospect and so did mine. It was a good time for Diane to make her appearance, bearing a big bowl of steaming oyster stew and a platter of fried selects.

"Local oysters?" I asked.

"You bet," Baynard said. We dived in and the world looked a brighter, simpler place, if only for a little while.