“Unacceptable ecological risks.”
That was the reason the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Virginia and Maryland gave yesterday for rejecting an introduction of Asian oysters into the Chesapeake Bay.
A roll of the dice. A game of chance with the Bay’s future. The dice land with boxcars….and maybe the non-native oysters would proliferate and resist disease and help the Chesapeake’s struggling seafood industry. The bones stop rolling with snake eyes and our prize: the Chinese bivalves bring invasive parasites in to the Bay, wipe out the remaining native oysters and absorb pathogens that would make people sick.
A roll of seven, nine or eleven – and the Asian oysters would have been introduced with great cost and effort, and then simply died. Meanwhile, the Bay area states would have spent years playing a game that was intoxicating in its promise, but went nowhere. They would have frittered away their time with the lure of a quick fix when they should have been hard at work, focused on continuing efforts to restore the native Chesapeake oyster.
Reviving the native oysters will be a tough road. But over the last five years, there have been signs of hope that should be seized on. Aquaculture of native Chesapeake oysters is working, with profitable businesses growing up to produce bivalves on oyster farms. Meanwhile, wild oysters are showing increasing tolerance to diseases that have hurt the species, and rivers such as Virginia’s Lynnhaven and Great Wicomico now have thriving native oyster reefs.
The Washington Post got it right this morning when it wrote that the Army Corps decision seems to end “a five-year flirtation with the idea that a Chinese bivalve could resurrect one of America's most famous shellfish grounds.”
A flirtation, yes, but with a Vegas showgirl. Too risky.
The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot noted that the roughly 1 million Asian oysters currently being used in experiments in Virginia rivers will be removed over the next month or two.
Instead: “Virginia, Maryland and the Army Corps of Engineers announced a new strategy Monday for restoring oysters in the Chesapeake Bay, a 10-year plan costing $500 million that excludes any use of exotic Asian oysters.”
The biggest questions now are: Will we make the water quality improvements essential to the restoration of the oysters and other aquatic life? Will we find the necessary money to rebuild oyster reefs and stock them with disease-resistant native oysters?
Hopefully, Virginia, Maryland and the federal government will step away from the craps table and start investing in those steps needed to accelerate both cleaner water and oyster reef construction. They should build up the promising native oyster farming industry, expand oyster sanctuaries, and create reef-building projects that give wild bivalves a chance to multiply.
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