![]() The program ended when the state’s permit expired and shell supplies were exhausted. Between 19, the natural resources department annually dredged up to 5 million bushels of buried shell from areas of the upper bay and barged it down the bay to saltier water, where the bivalves reproduce better. The foundation says the state agency has demonstrated that relying on shell substrate to boost mollusk numbers is ineffective. When that happened, the watermen’s association threw its support behind dredging to restock areas they’re able to harvest. The foundation rescinded its support around 2015, when the state could no longer guarantee 90% of the shell would be used for restoration projects. The association and preservationists such as the nonprofit bay foundation have, over more than a decade, reversed their stance on dredging the shoals. Watermen say the upper Chesapeake would benefit after its shells are moved elsewhere and oyster larvae, or spat, produced from the shell substrate is ferried back to harvestable areas. The anglers historically have opposed dredging the bar, fearful doing so would end its role as a habitat for marine animals.Ĭommercial watermen, meanwhile, say recycling the shells will boost live oyster numbers, and hopefully their incomes, as recent figures show an uptick in Chesapeake Bay market-sized oyster populations. Watermen are split teeming with more than 40 fish species, the Man O’War Shoals are a hot spot for white perch and croaker, making it popular among recreational anglers. These bars, however, quickly get buried in silt, rendering them useless and requiring the shell to be cleaned or replaced. Although other materials, from crushed concrete to limestone, have been used, fossil shell has been Maryland’s primary foundation for planting oyster bars. To survive, baby oysters need to attach to a clean, hard surface. ![]() The state and the nonprofit Chesapeake Bay Foundation consider restoring oysters, which filter the water, critical to saving the bay. “The problem here is you’re subsidizing this with taxpayer dollars - and you’re destroying a natural resource in order to facilitate private industry,” Grammer said.Įfforts to dredge the Man O’War Shoals have pitted state officials, preservationists and watermen against one another for years. Grammer acknowledges that commercial watermen are in a bind: With the oyster population all but wiped out by disease and climate change, it makes sense that those who make their living off the Chesapeake would look to scrape from the biggest stockpile of fossil shells to facilitate oyster growth in harvest areas.
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