History & Management

When John Smith explored the Chesapeake in the early 1600's he remarked that oysters "lay as thick as stones."

By the end of the 19th century, however, overharvesting to feed a booming oyster fishery caused populations of the Chesapeake Bay's native species, Crassostrea virginica, to drop precipitously.

In the early days of the population decline, William K. Brooks, a Maryland scientist and state Oyster Commissioner declared in his 1891 book The Oyster, "We have wasted our inheritance by improvidence and mismanagement and blind confidence."

His words proved only a small foreshadowing of even more dramatic changes to come as the historic reefs faced complete dismantling by the 1930s. When the oyster population stabilized, it remained at an average of one quarter of its original size. Management efforts helped keep population levels steady for nearly 50 years, until the 1970s.

Unfortunately, during that window of relative stability, two oyster diseases settled in the population and began to take their toll. The accumulated effects of the parasitic diseases Dermo and MSX would deal a near deathblow to the native oyster by the early 1980s.

Scientists and resource managers are now left with the difficult task of deciding how to best restore oysters in the Bay.

Can the native oyster, Crassostrea virginica, return to even a sliver of its former glory through reef building, sanctuaries, hatcheries, and disease-resistant breeding?

Or is it time to introduce a non-native oyster to fill the void in the Bay?

Maryland and Virginia are preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess whether an Asian oyster, Crassostrea ariakensis, might help restore a viable oyster population to the Bay. But many question the environmental implications of introducing a non-native species to the Bay. There are cultural implications as well — and few are willing to give up hope that with the right policies, the native Chesapeake oyster could mount a remarkable comeback.

Useful Links

Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission's 2007 Interim Report

Sixteen Decades of Political Management of the Oyster Fishery in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay

A Century of Conflict
Oyster Farming vs. Oyster Hunting

Chesapeake Quarterly

The MSX Files: Unmasking an Oyster Killer
Volume 5, Number 2, 2006

Skipjacks for the 21st Century
Volume 2, Number 1, 2003

A New Oyster for the Bay
Volume 1, Number 3, 2002

Maryland Marine Notes

Oyster Reefs: Key to Restoring Bay Grasses
January-February 2001

Black Men, Blue Waters: African Americans on the Chesapeake
March-April 1998

Aquaculture and Restoration
January-February 1998

A Question of Survival
January-February 1997

Legislating to Fight Disease
January-February 1997

Planting Oysters in the Chesapeake
September-October 1996

The New Oyster Wars
Summer 1995

Maryland Aquafarmer

Improving Bay Water Quality - The Role of Oyster Reefs
Winter 2001

Oyster Restoration in the Chesapeake: Looking Back, Looking Forward
Fall 2000

Citizens Oyster Forum
Spring 1999