BALTIMORE, MD—The Maryland Department of Natural Resources released new data this week that shows a record high of oysters harvested by commercial shellfish operations in the state. The DNR reports that 466 commercial shellfish operations leased 7,478 acres of state waters in 2023. The total harvest for 2023 was 94,286 bushels, which is an increase from 94,257 bushels in 2022. […]
BALTIMORE, MD—The Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Fall Oyster Survey recorded a remarkable year for juvenile oysters in Maryland waters, finding both prolific numbers and a widespread distribution throughout many regions of the Chesapeake Bay. The survey’s spatfall intensity index, a measure of reproductive success and potential population growth for oysters, was 86.8 spat, or juvenile oysters, per bushel, nearly […]
BALTIMORE, MD-The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has issued season limits for the 2019-2020 oyster harvesting season. The 2019-20 season will begin October 1, 2019 with no commercial harvesting on Wednesdays, and temporary closures to wild harvesting in certain areas where there is a low abundance of oysters, low natural spat set or where spat-on-shell plantings are being protected, including […]