On opening day of oyster season, the South River and other area waterways used to be full of boats working from bar to bar, hauling up the catch with tongs — metal baskets mounted on long wooden handles.
Earlier this week, there might have been two.
As of Oct. 1, watermen can catch oysters by hand tong, patent tongs — a motorized version with a larger basket — and diving. The limit is 15 bushels per day per licensed waterman, or 30 bushels per boat if more than one waterman is working on it.
Nov. 1 kicks off power dredging for oysters, but only in designated areas of Calvert, Dorchester, Somerset, St. Mary's, Talbot and Wicomico counties.
Mike Naylor, head of the shellfish division at the state Department of Natural Resources, expects this oyster season to be much like last year's — noticeably improved over past years, but a far cry from the glory days.
Last year was the best in 15 years, with about 422,000 bushels worth $14 million harvested, Naylor said.
Congratulations, Mike, but even 422,000 bushels is a pale shadow of what the Chesapeake Bay used to produce annually.
But it's still a tough road for watermen like John VanAlstine, who keep up the tradition of tonging.
"We are not getting wealthy out here," VanAlstine said. "Fifty percent of my income is enjoyment, in doing what you want to do."
Aboard the 40-foot Patricia Anne, three sets of tongs leaned against the side. At a bar near the mouth of the river, VanAlstine started the slow, repetitive, back-breaking work of tonging. As the steel basket with sharp rake tips scraped the bottom, VanAlstine felt the vibration coming up the handles to sense what's below.It's hard work, it doesn't pay, and it's quite likely preventing Eastern Oyster from making a comeback in Chesapeake Bay.
Then, he began the scissorlike manipulation to gather shell and oysters between the basket's raked jaws.
Slowly, he hauled the tongs out of the water, hand over hand. As the basket broke the water, he used his right leg as a pivot to bring it up to deck level, and pivoted again to dump the haul onto a table. A dull thud or two indicated keepers in that load.
"It's like lifting a fourth-grade child out of the water all day long," he said after a few hauls.
After a couple hours, a little over two bushels were aboard.
"Not making any money here," the 48-year-old VanAlstine said. "Will have to sell them by the dozen to make any money today."
Time for the Fritz Oyster Recovery Project. Stop fishing on wild oysters. Period. If necessary, pay the watermen to go away. Wait 5 or 10 years to see if natural reproduction will allow the oyster to at least begin a decent recovery. Repeat as necessary. In the meantime, let aquaculture provide as many or more oysters than the current pitiful fishery allows.
Back in the day, being from the Gulf Coast, we would use "drag chains" to harvest oysters. Most years we would wait till after Halloween
ReplyDeleteIt’s perfectly fine to eat oysters any time of year, unless you’re on the Gulf Coast, temps are too high in the summer there.”
Don't eat raw oysters in a month doesn't have an “r” in it - reason for the r-month rule: It allowed them time to reproduce since oysters spawn in the summertime. On the Gulf Coast, where they still harvest wild oysters, they still have a set season for oystering.
I drudged a lot of oysters in my scientific career, and ate more than a few too. We abide by the "r" rule in Maryland. While oysters are technically edible all year, they're thin and watery in summer after they spawn, and don't keep well in warm weather.
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