Four oyster hearings: Another shell job
Beginning next month, the public will get four opportunities to review and comment on the O'Malley administration's oyster recovery and aquaculture plan, proposed in January and approved by the General Assembly.
All four gatherings begin at 6 p.m.
July 7: Anne Arundel Community College, Pascal Center for the Performing Arts, 101 College Parkway, Arnold.
July 13: Leonardtown High School Auditorium, 23995 Point Lookout Road, Leonardtown.
July 22: Salisbury University, Caruthers Hall Auditorium, 1101 Camden Avenue, Salisbury.
Aug. 5: Chesapeake College, Todd Performing Arts Center, Route 50 and Route 213, Wye Mills.
For the last 16 years, the Chesapeake Bay oyster population has been mired at at one percent of historic levels while the number of productive oyster bars has decreased by 80 percent.
The number of watermen working the bay has plummeted to slightly more than 500, one-fourth the total of 25 years ago.
To reverse the decline, the O'Malley administration wants to increase oyster sanctuaries and set aside portions of the bay for aquaculture businesses.
Watermen oppose the location of the sanctuaries, saying it shuts them out of prime locations. They also are worried that the amount of time and money it takes to establish an aquaculture business is more than they can afford.
The plan is on the Department of Natural Resources website http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/oysters/pdfs/OysterOpenHouseFINAL2a.pdf.
A synopsis is at http://www.dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/oysters/OysterRestoration&AquacultureDevelopmentProposedRegulationsFactsheet.pdf.
