Chesapeake Bay Foundation Blog

Science or Politics?

Despite all of the scientific evidence that non-native oysters may cause more harm to our Chesapeake Bay oyster population, the Virginia Senate is proposing a resolution to support the Asian oyster introduction.

Should decisions like this be driven by science or politics?

Those who agree that non-native oysters should not be introduced to the Chesapeake Bay include

U.S. Department of the Interior,

National Oceanographic and Atmosheric Administration (NOAA),

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),

Chesapeake Bay Program Science and Technology Advisory Committee,

Chesapeake Bay Program Citizen's Advisory Committee,

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, 

Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the

Virginia Institute of Marince Science.

Supporters of the proposal want to introduce sterile Asian oysters into the Bay to build up the oyster fishery. Although the Asian oyster grows quickly and resists diseases affecting the Chesapeake oyster, the science highlights considerable uncertainty on its success. Instead, cultivation of native oysters on sanctuary reefs and in commercial aquaculture operations should be supported. CBF Senior Scientist Bill Goldsborough has said that “the scientific community is generally positive about the prospects for native oyster restoration,” citing numerous successful projects Virginia and Maryland. (see links below)

What else does the science say? It confirms that the Asian oyster

• is more vulnerable to predators than the Chesapeake oyster,
• has a greater sensitivity to the Bay’s low dissolved oxygen levels, and
• poses a risk of local extinction for Chesapeake species oysters by disrupting its reproduction, competing for space, and serving as a host for disease (yes, the local oysters are susceptible to new diseases introduced by the non-native oyster).

In addition, it is likely that introduction of sterile oysters will inevitably result in a reproductive population, and that they will spread beyond the boarders of the Chesapeake Bay to disrupt other oyster fisheries.

If you live in Virginia and want to stop the introduction of the Asian oyster, you can help by sending your senator an e-mail urging him or her to vote "NO" when Senate Joint Resolution 411 comes up for a vote.

Successful native oyster aquaculture projects include:

 a partnership of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and Bevans Oyster Company in Virginia's Yeocomico River;

oyster reefs in the Eastern Bay of Maryland, near Kent Island and;  

oyster restoration efforts in Virginia's Piankatank River and Lynnhaven River (the last is a pdf); 

Oysters Sound So Good

Came across two good audio pieces on Virginia oysters.

WMRA newswoman Nancy King reports "there is a glimmer of hope for the beleaguered bivalves." Interesting piece on what some VA oystermen are doing with oyster aquaculture.

Virginia Public Radio's With Good Reason serves up a tasty program about the reason to be optimistic for Chesapeake Bay oysters to make a comeback. "Chefs, oystermen, conservationists, oyster-lovers, and poets Nikki Giovanni (Virginia Tech) and Tim Seibles (Old Dominion University) all weigh-in about the legend and allure of Crassotrea virginica."

You can weigh in on the comeback of the Chesapeake oyster by responding to CBF's Action Alert urging the Army Corps of Engineers to support alternative 8A of the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on native vs. non-native oyster introduction in the Bay. Alternative 8A supports restoration and aquaculture of the native Chesapeake Bay oyster. You can find out more about the draft EIS on CBF's website.

Spring Break CBF Style

Over spring break a handful of students from Christopher Newport University and Virginia Wesleyan College decided to forgo Daytona Beach and spend their vacations helping CBF restore Virginia's oyster population. The Virginian-Pilot has a great story about the endeavor. One student, Travis Deale, also sent us this personal journal entry.

"Taking the time to volunteer for CBF during my spring break was very rewarding. It gave me some hands-on experience in field biology and also was a very good time. As a biology student who one day wants to work in field research, this was something that I really looked forward to and enjoyed. It was nice to do something productive over break. I fully support what the CBF is doing in trying to save the bay and I am glad i could help. The experience itself was fun, so it didn't seem too much like work to me because I was having fun and wanted to do it. I hope to work with the CBF again soon."

Travis Deale
CNU '09

Travis, we hope to work with you again soon, too!

Hampton Roads Oyster Gardener Makes News

Mimi Boseman is one of about 300 oyster gardeners in Hampton Roads, Virginia. WVEC reporter David Allen spoke with her recently about her efforts. Check out the video on WVEC's website.

Oysters Are In Our Blood

by guest blogger Tommy Leggett, oyster fisheries scientist in CBF's Virginia office.

The Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission recently supported the concept of boosting Maryland’s oyster fishery using aquaculture. The fact that the Chesapeake Bay’s oyster population and fishery is hitting rock bottom is old news. The good news is that aquaculture can produce oysters for market and keep watermen on the water, all while the oysters are in the Bay providing habitat and filtering the water.

I was a commercial fisherman in Virginia for nearly 20 years and every fishery I participated in seemed to be going south. I would switch from one fishery to the other in order to make a living. The final frontier for me was patent tonging for hard clams, and I wasn’t long figuring out that that fishery would not last. Sure enough, there are only about 25 clammers left in Virginia who are actively working full time in the fishery.

In the early 1990s, I had the opportunity to listen to several seminars sponsored by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science on oyster aquaculture. The idea intrigued me, and before long I was investing a small amount of capital in oyster seed and grow-out gear. I also tried growing a few clams with my goal being to eventually get out of the wild fishery and direct all of my efforts in the shellfish aquaculture industry.

I was well on my way to becoming a successful full-time shellfish grower when I had the opportunity to go to work for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) doing environmental education and oyster restoration. For the last 8 years now, I have been operating an oyster farm for CBF and have produced nearly 6 million adult cultchless oysters (grown from spat independent of a substrate, as opposed to spat on shell, which we also grow at CBF) that were planted for restoration but could have been sold. We are now working with the oyster industry to demonstrate the feasibility of spat on shell production by watermen and large growers for the market production of oysters. Meanwhile, I still have my own small oyster farm (separate from my work with CBF) and grow approximately 100,000 oysters per year for sale to local and out-of-state restaurants.

The return on investment isn’t too shabby, either. Consider the following two alternatives, each of which nets $1,250:

• Catching 15,000 wild oysters (50 bushels) with hand tongs
• Growing 5,000 oysters (16 bushels) in cages or floats

Virginia has long been practicing oyster aquaculture, first on private leases where leaseholders would purchase wild oyster seed, and later with the use of cages, bags and trays, using hatchery-produced seed to grow oysters for the half-shell trade. Historically, Virginia has produced more oysters from private leases than from its public oyster grounds, demonstrating that the private sector is better suited than state government to produce oysters for commercial harvest. (Oyster production on private grounds started in the mid-1800s.)

Could oyster farming one day be viable in Maryland? I think so. Of course, some major changes would have to occur. The laws and regulations governing leasing Bay bottom would have to be updated, and a more streamlined permitting process would have to be developed.  But I think what’s most important is that our watermen remain key players in the industry. Yes, they would have to adapt to a business that is more like farming than harvesting a wild resource. These changes may be significant, but they are not impossible to overcome.

For those of us who work the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, oysters are in our blood, and it would be a great thing to see more watermen once again be able to pass the fruits of their labor on to future generations. 

I believe the future is bright for oyster aquaculture. It requires some adjustments in the thinking of watermen, but the fact is, oyster farming will keep watermen on the water producing Chesapeake Bay oysters. Our Bay has changed over the centuries and it continues to change. Watermen should consider changing as well if they want to continue working on the Bay. Will it be easy? Of course not, but nothing worth having ever comes easy, whether it be 15,000 wild-caught oysters or 5000 oysters grown in cages.

Think about it!

The Times, Are They A Changin'?

Maryland’s newly-formed Oyster Advisory Commission (OAC) yesterday released its first report with initial recommendations about how the state should be managing its oyster resources.

You might not guess it, but this is exciting stuff. I know, I know… another commission, another report… and where are the oysters? What’s going to be different this time??

Well, for starters, the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and his team did a great job of naming new—but knowledgeable—faces to the commission. I'm not just saying this because CBF Maryland Executive Director, Kim Coble, is a member of the team. Everyone seems to be very committed to seeing the issues through fresh eyes and seeking new solutions.

The report's findings, recommendations, and even the vision statement are only preliminary, because the oyster Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)* isn't due out until this spring. That will provide more comprehensive information for the commission.

But—preliminarily—the OAC is recognizing some key things. One, that there is a difference between restoring oysters for their ecological value (that is, planting them onto sanctuaries where they can provide filtration and habitat value), and restoring the oyster industry (that is, keeping our watermen working). Both are laudable goals, but they are two very different things. 

Two, the OAC found that to date, federal and state oyster funding has primarily been used to support industry restoration, with less than a quarter of the funding supporting ecological restoration. This is clearly out of balance since one of the reasons we want to bring back the oyster population is to improve the health of the Bay. 

Moving forward, the Commission advocates ramping up the scale of ecological restoration, while helping the oyster industry transition into farming native oysters (aquaculture). Throughout the world aquaculture has proven to be more profitable and self-sustaining than harvesting wild oysters. In fact, we only have to look as far as Virginia to see that some of their watermen have transitioned to aquaculture and are doing nicely. And while creating a profitable industry, those oyster farms are providing some water filtration benefits to the Bay.

Let’s get in on that!

*The state/federal environmental impact statement regarding native and non-native oysters in the Chesapeake has been a long time coming, but it is considered the most comprehensive analysis to date of the oyster situation in the Chesapeake Bay.

Stephanie Reynolds is CBF's Maryland oyster restoration scientist.

36,000 Oysters Planted in South River

via the Baltimore Sun

Arianna Dalton and about a dozen other volunteers took the plunge for the environment Monday evening at Edgewater Beach, adding about 680 rocks caked with 2-month-old oysters to the river bottom to create a reef in hopes of improving water clarity and quality.

The project, organized by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and the South River Federation, is the third effort of its kind in Anne Arundel County. The Naval Academy seawall and the breakwaters at the CBF headquarters in Bay Ridge also have man-made oyster reefs.

Virginia should double is spending on oyster restoration

via The Capital & The Virginian-Pilot

A report released Tuesday from Virginia's Blue Ribbon Oyster Panel endorses continuing to support efforts to revive the native oyster population, encouraging oyster farming and building of more artificial reefs. The report comes as the U.S. government is proposing to allocate no new money for the state's native-oyster-recovery efforts next year, ending years of congressional support averaging about $3 million a year.