The St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission (MetCom) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Potomac River Fisheries Commission (PRFC) reflecting the commitment of both organizations to collaboratively promote and enhance the health of local ecosystems, including the Potomac and Patuxent Rivers, the Chesapeake Bay and their respective tributaries.
Oyster revitalization provides broad ecological benefits, but it requires considerable funding and resources. To help expedite progress, MetCom has voluntarily agreed to provide supplemental financial support in the form of annual grants to the PRFC for oyster revitalization projects within the tidal Potomac River.
The grant funds will be used to purchase and plant wild oyster seed, spat-on-shell (SOS), and oyster shells in designated Special Management Areas (SMAs) and other suitable sites within the PRFC jurisdiction to increase biomass and suitable substrate for reproduction events. Scaled to a funding level of $10,000 per year, it is anticipated that the PRFC could plant over 700 bushels of wild oyster seed or 350,000 seed oysters equating to an estimated 2.6 million eyed larvae and up to 2 acres of oyster ground.
The typical oyster site-specific project can cost between $50,000-$100,000.
The primary goal is to help enhance the ecological health of our local rivers by increasing the population of Eastern Oysters, which play a critical role in improving water quality, water clarity (by filtering algae, sediment and other pollutants) and by providing food and habitat for various species.
We are excited about this new partnership which is in line with our mission to be environmental stewards in the operation and maintenance of the public wastewater conveyance and treatment systems. Gerald Meyerman, MetCom Chairman stated that; “We purposefully chose to fund the effort on SMAs because they are managed more conservatively than public oyster bars and would therefore provide more of an environmental benefit to our waterways.” These types of projects will have limited harvesting windows (some partially or permanently closed) and restrictions on various types of gear allowed to be utilized (e.g., only hand-operated gear not mechanical – rakes, diving, and hand tongs).
In accordance with Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s July 20, 2023 Executive Order 01.01.2023.12,“ . . . Increasing the abundance of the Eastern Oyster, a critical species for Maryland’s economy and water quality, is a priority of the Moore-Miller Administration; . . . Oysters play a valuable role in creating reefs that clean water and provide habitat for critical species, including crabs and striped bass.”
