During the 2022-'23 season, harvesters gathered about 700,000 bushels — the most in 35 years, according to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
“It is huge,” said Mike Hutt, executive director of the Virginia Marine Products Board. “It's not where we were back in the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s, and early ’60s, but Virginia is back in the oyster business.”
Hutt, who’s worked in the seafood industry for 44 years, said Virginia now produces more oysters yearly than any other East Coast state — a fact he attributed to decades of population management and environmental work.
In the most recent season, 300,000 bushels of oysters were harvested from public waters. The state manages those waters by monitoring oyster abundance and health, and regularly rotating which public waters are open for harvesting.
Private farms — which yielded 400,000 bushels last season — have also contributed to the revival by stocking their waters with healthy, disease-free oysters.
Hutt said that helps create heathy ecosystems.
“We've got over 200 active growing companies doing agricultural oysters today, [and] every adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day,” Hutt said.
Now, state regulators are cautiously expanding access to harvesting grounds; they helped harvesters reach last season’s milestone by extending oyster season by two weeks.
There were also more people harvesting oysters last season than in the past, contributing to the increased haul. According to the USDA, there were 60 oyster farms in the commonwealth in 2018, compared to 134 in 2016. Today, there are over 200, according to Hutt. And regulators expect the number to grow 7%-15% this season.
Shannon contributed to decisions like the extension of the season. She serves on the Shellfish Management Advisory Committee, where she said she’s one of the only members not affiliated with the fishing industry.
“I'm kind of like the voice of conservation, but I certainly don't feel like the Lone Ranger,” she said, noting that most committee members have seen their businesses affected by the oyster population’s collapse.
Although she said a season extension should not be regular practice, Shannon said the science justified the move last year.
I have to admit that, contrary to my expectations, oysters in both Maryland and Virginia are showing signs of a bit of recovery. Are the regulations now sufficiently conservative to allow the oysters to reproduce faster than fishing and disease mortality? Are oyster populations evolving increased resistance to the oyster diseases that have held them back since the 80s? Is the (slightly) improved water quality starting to help? A combination of all above? I don't know, but it's good to see. George Abbe would be gratified.
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