Oyster Memories and Oyster Restoration

To the Editor:
After reading Governor Martin O’Malley’s Oyster Restoration and Aquaculture Development Draft Plan at the Maryland DNR web site (www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/oysters). This looks like the best oyster restoration plan I have seen or heard about to restore the oysters to a resemblance of their past history. I look forward to seeing this plan implemented and the results that I think could be realized. Having large areas of water set aside for the oysters will allow them to grow and from these oysters may come oysters that are more resistant to msx and dermo and may repopulate other areas. These areas also designate a clear delimitation as to where you can oyster and where you can’t. Growing oysters for yourself or for a restoration project is a win-win situation for the Chesapeake Bay and all those that participate.

Oysters hold many memories for me. I can’t remember the first oyster I ever ate but know I have always liked them. I like them fried, raw, in stew, steamed, in fritters or my favorite is to put them on a half shell, sprinkle some crispy bacon bits on top with a piece of cheese and put them on a cookie sheet and into the oven. They are ready when the cheese melts.

I remember the first time my wife tried a raw oyster. She saw me eating them and she wanted to try one. She is from the mountains of Pennsylvania and had never seen an oyster before. She asked how to do it. I told her to just open her mouth, tilt her head back a little and let the oyster slide off the shell and into her mouth. She then could either chew it up or swallow it whole. Later on I saw her stroking the front of her neck and I asked what she was doing. She said the oyster never went down. We have laughed about that story many times over the years.

I remember the oyster roasts that my retired neighbors used to have. I would tell them that I wish I were retired so I could attend. They told me not to wish my life away because I would be old soon enough. Well I finally retired and attended the oyster roasts. They all called me the kid. My first job was to shuck oysters for the oyster stew. The other jobs were to work the steamer and the fried oysters. There were also cleanup duties, in which we all helped.

One of the most notable things was that we were a diverse group. There was a former accountant, military people, a plumber, government bureaucrat, salesman, post office worker, a couple I don’t know and a telephone worker. The oysters had a way of bringing us all together. They are all gone now just like most of the oysters. I miss them and the oyster roasts.

One of my hobbies/projects I enjoyed the most was my oyster floats. It was also my saddest. I could go down to my pier, which is on a small tidal pond off the Potomac River and get oysters to eat anytime I wanted. I could raise oysters from spat (babies) to 3 1/2 inches in 14 months.

When we wanted oysters for dinner I would gather up some to shuck. I had to bring up a few extras because I would eat a few raw ones while shucking. But the creek that brought salt water into the pond closed off. The water became fresher and fresher until all my oysters died.

I have hand tonged for oysters a few times. What a workout. You have two long wooden shafts with a rake on each end. It is similar to a pair of scissors. You open and close the shafts and they open and close the rakes on the bottom and collect the oysters. You pull the tongs up and dump them on the culling board. This is where you pick out the legal oysters; those that are larger than three inches, and throw the rest back into the water. Every once in awhile you stop and eat a couple. Most tonging is done in the winter months. You have to dress warm. Tonging is a real workout for your arms, shoulders and back. Better than a gym because you will go to the gym for an hour or so and leave. When you are making a living from oysters and paying the bills you have to spend hours until you get enough oysters.

We have been trying to bring back the oysters and fix the Chesapeake Bay for many years without much success. The bay will not be saved without the return of the oysters and the menhaden that are filter-feeding fish that filter more water than the oysters do. This plan looks like it can work. Not to just bring back the oysters but for the oysters to help clean the water with the help of the menhaden, if we can bring them back too. There may be those out there that do not agree with this plan. Some things that I have heard are short sighted and fail to see the long view for the future. I think we would be hard pressed to find something better that we can live with. In the long run this will help the watermen when we find the oysters that can tolerate the oyster diseases like dermo and msx.

Thanks to Governor O’Malley we now have a plan.

I have my many good memories with the oysters. There’s not many new memories being made today. Maybe we can bring the oysters back to the point so that others can create their own memories

Bill Bartlett
Leonardtown

wbartlett@md.metrocast.net