The Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission (OAC) has released it 2008 Legislative Report released this week in which it offered a multi-faceted strategy for restoring the Chesapeake’s native oyster population and revitalizing the State’s beleaguered oyster industry. Governor Martin O’Malley praised commission members for providing an exceptional framework for oyster restoration. He added that the government is fully ready to translate their hard work into the definitive actions that will return a healthy native oyster population to Maryland waters.
The commission’s recommendations, developed in concert with state fisheries managers and stakeholders, which include pursuing option 8A of the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement currently being finalized, which favors using only the native Eastern oyster for both ecological restoration and aquaculture in Maryland.
It will also focus restoration on larger scale, interconnected sanctuary areas, maximizing opportunity for survival in the face of disease and other stressors. It is recommended to develop a new fisheries management plan that, like other fisheries, would cap the percentage of the existing oysters that could be removed by fishermen each year.
OAC Chairman Bill Eichbaum opined that this report lays out a clear strategy for restoring large scale populations of native oysters in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay. He also told that the commission has set forth a number of steps that need to be taken in order to create a climate conducive to the development of a growing oyster harvest that is largely based on aquaculture.
