November 6, 2014 — Oyster aquaculture production continues to rev up the seaside economies in Maryland and Virginia, but the need for better leasing laws and procedures coupled with a tough year for hatcheries slowed production in 2014.
Hatcheries from Maryland to North Carolina experienced water-quality problems, and scientists can’t figure out why. Unlike in 2011, when hatchery managers and scientists blamed a slog of freshwater from hurricanes for poor production, this year’s problems seem more site-specific.
At the University of Maryland’s Horn Point Hatchery in Cambridge, production was down about 30 percent, according to Don Webster, an extension agent who specializes in aquaculture. Horn Point is the largest hatchery in Maryland, and the state owns and operates it. Unlike many private hatcheries, Horn Point’s is loaded with top-notch equipment and several filtration systems. Webster said Horn Point staff consulted with oyster experts elsewhere, but couldn’t figure out the problem, which lasted from May until July.
“This was the first time we’d seen it widespread, and for that long,” Webster said. “Nothing seemed to work on it.”
Horn Point will close the year with about 900 million spat, which oyster farmers and the state plant on the bottom after the larvae set on oyster shells. In 2013, Horn Point announced it produced more than 1 billion spat, more than any other hatchery in the country. That was after several years in the 500-million range.
Read the full story at the Bay Journal