MARYLAND

Embattled Md. oyster restoration program considered for Manokin, Nanticoke rivers

Jeremy Cox
The Daily Times

Two of the Eastern Shore of Maryland's biggest rivers are among the top candidates for the next phase of an oyster restoration project that has drawn sharp opposition from watermen.

The Manokin and Nanticoke rivers may become the fourth and fifth Chesapeake Bay tributaries to undergo restoration of their oyster reefs.

A view of the Nanticoke River from Roaring Point Park on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017.

The Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission forwarded a list of eight potential sites earlier this summer to Gov. Larry Hogan's administration. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources hasn't released a timetable for when a decision will be made.

Each of the eight waterways received at least one vote from one of the commission's 22 members. Breton Bay on the Chesapeake's western shore garnered the most votes, with 12, followed by the St. Mary's River and the Manokin, with 11. The Nanticoke had 9.

The project involves planting billions of nearly microscopic baby oysters, known as spat, and shielding them from commercial harvesters in the hope they will grow and multiply. 

Environmentalists and seafood industry representatives, though, disagree on where the next batch of spats should be placed — and whether the effort is paying off.

Natural Resources officials didn't release a breakdown of the tributary vote, but participants say each side clearly had their favorites. Scientists and environmental advocates favored more-pristine waterways, including the Manokin, the Nanticoke and the St. Mary's.

“It obviously is scary and concerning to folks in those areas because these are large areas being set aside for ecological restoration," said Allison Colden, an oyster commission member and fisheries manager for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. "But this is really the only way to get to the ecological metrics we’re trying to achieve.” 

A view of the Manokin River from Raccoon Point Park on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017.

Robert T. Brown, president of the Maryland Watermen's Association, said his membership would rather see restoration done in Breton Bay in St. Mary's County and the Severn River in Anne Arundel County. Those waters are hospitable to oysters, but, unlike with their Eastern Shore counterparts, the number of bivalves is lacking.

"Why would you want to dump more money into a place that is getting natural recruitment down there when it’s not necessary?" asked Brown, who is also on the oyster commission.

'Pretty phenomenal'

All the sites under consideration for oyster restoration are state sanctuaries, barring commercial harvesters from their waters. Brown and other watermen fear that if the Manokin or Nanticoke are selected, they will be shut out from their reefs permanently.

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“Once federal money goes into a place, you can never ever, ever get it open again," said Daniel Webster, an oyster buyer and former waterman based in Somerset County. “With the state level, you might have a chance.” 

Nearly $50 million in state and federal funds have poured into the three current Maryland restoration sites since work began six years ago. All three are tucked along the Mid-Shore: Harris Creek and the Little Choptank and Tred Avon rivers.

An April assessment showed that 560 acres of new oyster reefs had been created out of the partnership's goal of more than 900. The deadline for the work to start to be completed and start bearing results is 2025.

In Harris Creek, where work wound up in 2015, 97 percent of the 30 reefs surveyed last fall met the minimum criteria of having 50 or more oysters per square meter, according to a National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration report.

Colden called the results so far "pretty phenomenal."

But industry members have long been skeptical of the effort. Some of the reefs planted in 2015 in Harris Creek had to be reconstructed because they were built too high and were causing run-ins with fishing boats. 

'Their best ability'

Many watermen would like to return to previous restoration methods, which involved plucking oysters from productive grounds and relocating them to less-fertile areas to trigger a comeback there. 

“We are not using these sanctuaries to their best ability. We need to groom or change the way we’re working with these sanctuaries to make them more productive for the oyster across the state," Brown said.

Breton Bay offers several advantages for restoration, including a low occurrence of disease, proponents say. Since watermen don't depend on the waters much for making a living, the projects should have minimal impact on the industry. But so much work needs to be done to restore the bottom, costs could add up quickly.  

The Severn already has hosted some restoration work, but its low salt content and degraded water quality raise questions about whether oysters could take root, officials say.

Meanwhile, the Manokin, which winds its way up to Princess Anne, provides abundant oysters as a foundation for growing more bivalves and relatively clean water. But oyster disease could be a major problem, not to mention industry pushback.

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And at the Nanticoke, oysters have begun rebounding since much of the area was named a sanctuary in 2010. The water conditions are about right. But, like the Manokin, the possibilities of disease and upending industry weigh heavily on officials' minds.

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