I did a post two days ago saying that Maryland's Department of Natural Resources had changed the rules for oystering in their managed reserves -- those oyster bars that the Oyster Recovery Partnership is planting with hatchery seed from U. of Maryland's lab.
It turns out that, while the rules were changed back in 2004-2005 during the reserves' experimental phase, they have remained the same since. Oystermen may take out 3-inch oysters until they catch their limits when the oyster bar either had half of its oysters at 4 inches, or when there's enough disease to justify taking them out, says shellfish guru Chris Judy.
DNR's notice did not say anything about each eligible bar already having half its oysters at four inches. The reason Judy said, is because the notice was written for oystermen, and oystermen don't care about that. They only want to know which bars are open, what's the size limit, and how many they can catch.
Makes sense. But that omission is causing some confusion.
ORP Bill Goldsborough noticed the mistake on the blog and called me -- I thank him for that, because we do strive for accuracy here at bayblog...and here's what he says about the ecological value:
Neither the size criteria for opening a reserve nor the size limit for harvesting from a reserve changed this year. The size criteria for opening is still that the median size on a reserve be 4 inches (which usually means that the mean size is slightly larger); and the minimum size for harvesting is 3 inches. These have been the sizes since the first reserve opening 4 years ago when the initial experimental size limits were adjusted based on the outcome of the opening. Keep in mind that these sites are planted once, which means they hold one year class of oysters that are all fairly close in size. So, the minimum size for harvest is 3 inches (the same as harvest bars, which facilitates enforcement), but most of the oysters are clustered around 4 inches in size. The oysters still stay in the water undisturbed at least a year longer than a normal harvest bar. Also, the density of oysters on the reserves is one hundred or more times the density on most harvest bars, so the ecological benefits during the 3 or 4 years the site is closed after planting are substantial.
I still would really like to know how much it costs to produce a bushel of oysters these days, compared to the dockside value of about $30 a bushel. I have heard estimates that it's between $110 and $80 from different sources...if anyone's heard different numbers, I'd sure like to know about it.
Comments
"ORP Bill Goldsborough noticed the mistake on the blog and called me -- I thank him for that, because we do strive for accuracy here at bayblog."
Clearly, which is why the previous story was posted before verifying the "facts". And why Mr. Goldsborough's more commonly known title as chief scientist for CBF was omitted.
"Makes sense. But that omission is causing some confusion."
The only person that seems confused is Ms. Kobell herself.
Posted by: Oy | December 12, 2007 5:08 PM