After research showed oyster population is less than 1 percent of historic levels, a scientist with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science issued a statement last week recommending a moratorium be placed on oyster fishing, though many are inclined to disagree.
Recent research shows the oyster population in the upper Chesapeake Bay has been estimated at 0.3 percent of population levels in the early 1800s, due to overfishing, disease and habitat loss, UMCES’s Michael Wilberg said in the statement. This number is less than the 1 percent finding by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Even with the low population levels, Wilberg asserts that mortality due to fishing continues to be substantial, at approximately 25 percent of the population per year since 1980. Harvesting oysters not only reduces the population but also degrades the habitat since oyster shells provide the primary habitat for future generations, he said, adding that suitable oyster habitat in Maryland’s portion of the bay has declined by about 70 percent since 1980.
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