MD_Weedman t1_j5l7ywo wrote on January 23, 2023 at 8:16 PM

Reply to comment by RyCalll in Where to go to harvest oysters? by RyCalll

Don't waste your time off Gibson Island. No oyster spat have been seen above the Bay Bridge in over a decade.

Maryland's history with oystering had legislators (who make most of the oyster rules) always favoring watermen over recreational harvesters. It's been that way for many generations. Many books out there if you want to learn more about how it came to be that way. It was so bad that it wasn't legal to start a new lease to grow your own oysters until 2009.

RyCalll OP t1_j5l87z1 wrote on January 23, 2023 at 8:18 PM

Do you have any suggestions on spots that would be good for walking the waterline?

MD_Weedman t1_j5lqcka wrote on January 23, 2023 at 10:11 PM

I have tons of great suggestions. I know a spot on the lower Potomac where you can snorkel in 4' of water and find a legal bushel in a few minutes. I've got a spot in Worchester County where you can walk a beach at low tide and barely get your feet wet while harvesting your legal limit. Of course I'm never telling my spots to anyone. I don't imagine you'll find anyone willing to give up their spots.

RyCalll OP t1_j5lz2or wrote on January 23, 2023 at 11:09 PM

Ah, ok. Thanks anyway

PigtownDesign t1_j5lfbmi wrote on January 23, 2023 at 9:01 PM

And with the grounding of the Ever Forward last spring, any remaining beds were ruined.

MD_Weedman t1_j5lpe00 wrote on January 23, 2023 at 10:04 PM

The Ever Forward hit an old named oyster bar, but it didn't hit an oyster bed. See this report from June 2022.