Oyster aquaculture in Maryland has changed more in the past decade than it has in the past two centuries. Farming oysters usually requires space along the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay — and that space, until recently, was hard to come by in Maryland. During the 19th and 20th centuries, oyster farming businesses were not welcome in most of Maryland's waters. The best Bay bottom was protected as a commons for wild harvesting of oysters. But that changed in 2009: the Maryland general Assembly passed legislation that swept away long-standing restrictions limiting private leases of Bay bottom. The state then began promoting an expansion of oyster farming. more . . .
In 2012, Ted Cooney got one million oysters in mesh bags the size of a cantaloupe and started an oyster farming business. The system he planned to use was still somewhat new in Maryland waters: he would pack oysters in cages for most of their growing time. His approach would prove more difficult than he expected. more . . .
In the late 1970s, oyster farmers along the Nanticoke River learned to work around restrictions against private bottom leases, and the river soon held 25 percent of all oyster leases in Maryland. As new techniques began raising hopes for better harvests, disease outbreaks suddenly shut down farming in the mid-1980s. Thirty years later, oyster farming is rebounding in this river. more . . .
Officers with Maryland's Natural Resources Police hear many stories about one persistent problem oyster farmers face: poaching. A crime easy to commit, but difficult to prosecute. more . . .
An ancient fishery feud still simmers in Maryland: should the state support wild harvest on public oyster grounds or encourage farming on private, leased bottom areas? more . . .
Maryland Sea Grant has a new science writer. Daniel Pendick will cover Bay science and the education and community outreach efforts of the program's Extension specialists. more . . .
As erosion threatens treasured places around the Chesapeake Bay, communities are turning to nature-based solutions. Explore how living shorelines are helping to protect coasts and heritage on opposite shores of the Bay.
Living shoreline plants have a tough job: they must hold down the sandy shoreline with their roots and ease waves with their stems, all while surviving salty water.
Researchers are on a mission to determine which key components make a living shoreline successful at preventing erosion—but first they must gather crucial data.
Oyster biology is both an obstacle and an opportunity when it comes to living shorelines. Learn how and why oysters are sometimes included in living shoreline projects.
A living shoreline is under construction in Baltimore City—part of a sweeping project that aims to restore more than 50 acres of habitat along 11 miles of shoreline.
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