March 2, 2026 — Maryland requested a federal disaster declaration for the Chesapeake Bay oyster fishery Friday, after a perfect storm of bad weather and headline-grabbing environmental incidents depressed the market.
It’s not that there aren’t enough oysters, state officials say, but that the falling prices are hammering the industry.
In December, the Centers for Disease Control linked a multistate salmonella outbreak to eating raw oysters. Then, January brought a massive snowstorm and a prolonged cold snap, freezing the Chesapeake and keeping watermen off their boats.
That same month, a massive sewage pipe collapsed on the Potomac River, spilling millions of gallons of sewage — and damaging the perception of oysters further, even though testing has shown bacteria within safe levels at a state oyster harvesting area.