CAMBRIDGE, Md. - This holiday season, your oyster feast for Thanksgiving or Christmas might cost a little less. While the season is still in its infancy, watermen are reporting lesser earnings for their oyster catches.
Josh Parker with T.L. Morris Seafood, says that the supply of available oysters nationwide is up due to a resurging oyster population in the Gulf of Mexico. That leads to increased supply and lower prices.
"Between gulf oysters and the slower economy overall I think the prices are down. Things are tough, they're getting less money, everything costs more of course and we don't know going later into the season if they're going to be able to work every day," says Parker.
Jack Brooks of J.M. Clayton Seafood relies on dredged oysters for his business. That season gets underway on Wednesday.
"We understand that they're a little bit lower than we had all been hoping for, the last two years were just very very good," Brooks says.
State Senator Johnny Mautz says out-of-state oysters driving down Maryland oyster prices is a tale as old as time.
"There is not a simple solution for creating some form of a baseline or protection for our domestic oyster for the sale price. It's going to be a challenging year," says Mautz.
Hand tonging for oysters began earlier this month. Dredging starts on November 1 in Maryland.