DEAL ISLAND — After a less than stellar crab harvest this summer, many Maryland watermen pulled up their crab pots early and began oystering as soon as the season started Oct. 1 with the hopes that this year’s harvest will be as good as it was last winter.
“I’ve been catching my limit,” said Danny Webster of Deal Island who began oystering last week. “Any time you can do that, you’re doing good.”
Although the first monthly harvest reports to the state won’t be turned in until early November, Chesapeake Bay watermen like Webster are saying the adult oyster population looks good, said Mike Naylor, shellfish program director for the Department of Natural Resources.
Most watermen wait until the end of crab season in early November to begin oystering, but this month about 500 began working early.
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