CAMBRIDGE, Md. - Waterman here on the Eastern Shore say the oyster harvesting season is going great, but what isn't going great is the cost per bushel.
The price per bushel is significantly lower than it has been in years past. And many waterman say if the price continues to remain as low as it is, they won't be able to make it out on the water next season.
Norman Schuyler has been a waterman for over 30 years he says, "there's more oyster this year than there's been in years. And the spat [larvae that attaches to an oyster's shell for reproduction] count from what I talked to the other guys that are out there is just off the charts. I mean they are covered with spat. The oysters are doing great! It's just we don't have a market to get rid of them."
Oyster prices this season are as low as $30 a bushel. This time last year, waterman say they were getting between $45 and $50 a bushel. Due to indoor dining restrictions, there is not enough demand for raw oysters as there used to be, says Schuyler.
"I would say 90% of them go to your raw bars, your restaurants. Um, catering and with all that closed, you have all these oysters and nowhere to move them," Schuyler says.
Some waterman, because of the market, are only working a few days a week, like Jeff Harrison who chairs the Talbot County Waterman's Association. "So we're only working one to two days a week. We're only allowed ten bushel so my income is off significantly from last year."
Restaurant owners say it all comes down to supply and demand. They do not have nearly as many customers. The customers they do have are not necessarily ordering raw oysters.