Maryland requested a federal disaster declaration for the Chesapeake Bay oyster fishery Friday, after a perfect storm of bad weather and headline-grabbing environmental incidents depressed the market.
It’s not that there aren’t enough oysters, state officials say, but that the falling prices are hammering the industry.
In December, the Centers for Disease Control linked a multistate salmonella outbreak to eating raw oysters. Then, January brought a massive snowstorm and a prolonged cold snap, freezing the Chesapeake and keeping watermen off their boats.
That same month, a massive sewage pipe collapsed on the Potomac River, spilling millions of gallons of sewage — and damaging the perception of oysters further, even though testing has shown bacteria within safe levels at a state oyster harvesting area.
“In-person and online, the ‘unsafe’ bell has been rung and the impact to Maryland seafood and aquaculture and associated buying behavior may be long lasting,” read Gov. Wes Moore’s (D) letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting the disaster declaration.
Between October and January, Maryland watermen landed 188,673 bushels — 44% down from the five-year average. The dockside value of the harvest for the same period was $6.69 million, compared to $19.92 million for the five-year average, the letter said.
“We had been hearing concerns about the price all year. So this is something that, frankly, has been percolating since the season started, and something we were monitoring and watching,” said Maryland Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz. “We knew we were already in a down year. And then you start layering things on.”
There was also increased competition this year from oyster markets in Gulf states after moratoriums there were lifted, Kurtz said. By the time midseason data arrived at DNR in December, he said, a “red light started flashing.”
Kurtz said that recent data from DNR has shown a healthy oyster stock, with strong improvement since 2005, when oysters in the bay were decimated by disease.
In February, Maryland extended this year’s oyster season by two weeks, through April 14. But watermen — and the Eastern Shore lawmakers representing them in Annapolis — have been calling for the state to request disaster assistance.
Del. Jay Jacobs (R-Upper Shore) said this year has been “the toughest oyster season I’ve seen in my entire life.” The Eastern Shore delegation asked the state to pursue disaster aid several weeks ago, but he said he was pleased to see the request entered now.
“These guys are hurting really bad, the oystermen are,” Jacobs said. “And they need relief immediately, not two or three months from now.”
Robert T. Brown, president of the Maryland Watermen’s Association, said the first signs of trouble came around Thanksgiving, when demand, usually sky-high, was diminished. As Christmas got closer, conditions didn’t improve.
“Some watermen weren’t working but one day, two days a week,” Brown said. “You were exceptional if you got to work three days.”
Jacobs said he’s heard of watermen falling behind on boat payments, and being threatened with repossession, he said.
“Imagine if you can only work two days — and the price is not great,” he said.
These guys are hurting really bad, the oystermen are. And they need relief immediately, not two or three months from now.
– Del. Jay Jacobs (R-Upper Shore)
The Potomac spill is likely to make the perception issue worse. On Jan. 19, a massive sewage pipe collapsed beside the Potomac River, spewing an estimated 243 million gallons of untreated sewage into the water.
The state quickly shut down an oyster harvesting area about 60 miles downstream of the spill as a precaution. But testing has shown bacteria levels continue to meet public health standards, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment. As a result, the state plans to reopen the harvest area on March 10.
In his letter, Moore argued that public distrust in Potomac oysters is being fueled by “misinformation in health risk messaging, misunderstanding about official harvest closures and broader distrust.”
“We will continue to help build confidence and understanding that the origin of shellfish are traceable and all Maryland shellfish are not affected. But misunderstanding and inconsistency are still undermining consumer confidence and trust,” Moore wrote.
It’s not the first time in recent years that Maryland has made a fishery disaster request of the federal government. A 2023 request for the blue crab and striped bass fisheries, citing predation from invasive blue catfish and northern snakeheads, was denied. But Kurtz said while it was difficult to quantify the invasives’ impact on the fishery then, this request is more straightforward.
“The data set that we’re working off, I think, will hopefully be seen as more concrete and less abstract,” Kurtz said.
The Trump administration last year turned down disaster assistance for a devastating flood in Western Maryland, but state officials are hopeful that the administration will see the urgency of their request.
“It’s not necessarily about where the politics are going to lie,” Kurtz said. “We wanted to do this, and we needed to do this because it’s another tool in the toolbox.”
Federal disaster dollars could be used for financial assistance to watermen or to support shellfish safety and marketing campaigns, Moore wrote.
In the meantime, state officials are boosting marketing for the state’s oysters through the summertime and into the next oyster season, Kurtz said. The message, he said, is “Buy Maryland oysters. They’re high quality, they’re delicious and they support all of our local economies.”
“What we’re trying to do is continue to keep people excited about the oyster and really provide that extra boost from a marketing perspective, so that we can ride out some of these market trends,” Kurtz said.