Watermen Offer Plan To Harvest MD Oyster Sanctuary

HOLLYWOOD, Md. — The St. Mary's River is one of the best reproductive areas for the native oyster in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, watermen say, and they have offered a plan to open up the oyster sanctuary in the upper portion of the county's eponymous river to limited harvesting.

The plan has already drawn strong opposition from a local river preservation group, the St. Mary's River Watershed Association (SMRWA), which has long supported oyster sanctuaries started under the administration of former Gov. Martin O'Malley.

They worry that disturbing the oyster sanctuary would degrade the efforts to preserve the dwindling bi-valve believed to be one of the keys to restoring the health of the bay because of its pollutant filtering ability.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: St. Mary's County Times