MARYLAND - Oyster season starts on Thursday, October 1. As watermen saw a challenging crabbing season this year, there’s concern the oyster season may also be rough.
Maryland’s Department of Agriculture says it is “seeing a decrease in wholesale shucked oyster meat because competing regions can offer oysters at a lower cost.”
Mason Little owns the Choptank River Crab and Oyster Company. He says there are a lot more oysters around.
“Right now, a lot of southern states are opening up,” he says. “This year and the one before definitely put a squeeze on us. I think this year, as opposed to last, we were buying about 300 to 400 bushels a day. Now we're going to have to cut it back to around 150 to 200.”
Local waterman Mike Basil says everything is a ripple effect when it comes to the low demand.
“People, they don't have the extra money because of electric bills,” he says. “That puts a hurdle. And they're not going out and buying seafood, and this year, gas is higher than last year.”
Basil adds that the beginning of oyster season is similar to the end of crab season.
The Maryland Department of Agriculture acknowledges the challenges facing watermen and has announced a new “Game Day on the Half Shell” campaign. The goal is to encourage Marylanders to make oysters a part of their football watch-parties, wherever they watch from.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources says the season will run through Wednesday, March 31. Commercial harvest limits, legal size requirements and other commercial regulations that were in place last season will remain the same.
