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• Ecological Restoration

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• Monitoring & Assessment
  

  

• ​​ Marylanders Grow Oysters

  

• Aquaculture
  
  

  

Public Oyster Resource

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County Oyster Committee Elections 2024-2025

The Department of Natural Resources will be holding elections for members of the county oyster committees. Oyster surcharge holders in the current season or one of the previous two seasons are eligible to run for a seat on your county committee. Eligible individuals will have reported oyster harvest using one of the legal gears in the current season or one of the two previous seasons. Surcharge payers as of November 22, 2024 will be notified of their potential eligibility by direct mail. Those interested in having their name appear on the ballot for their county must notify the Department by phone, email, fax or mail no later than December 20, 2024.

The elections will be by mail. Ballots will be sent out to license holders (with Unlimited Tidal Fish, Oyster Harvester, or Oyster Dredge Boat authorizations) for the counties that have oyster committees (Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Charles, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, St. Mary's, Talbot, Wicomico). These licence holders may vote for up to 5 members per gear type (hand tong, patent tong, power dredge, dive, and sail dredge) from the ballot to represent them on the county committee where they reside.

Ballots will be mailed at the end of December 2024 and will be due back to the Department in mid-January 2025 (exact date to be determined and will be included on ballots when mailed). Members elected to each committee will be notified by direct mail.​

Links for commercial and recreational harvesters about the public oyster fishery:

• 2024-2025 Shellfish Closure Book with Bar Names (26 ​MB pdf)​
  
• Maryland Shellfish Closure Areas
• Map of Permitted Oyster Harvest Gear​​​
• ​iShellfish Mapping App ​​
• Additional Areas Closed to Oystering by Public Notice​​
  

​Additional Links for Commercial Oyster Harvesters:

• Commercial Shellfish Harvester Closure Area Information Portal​
• How To Buy and Sell Shellfish Commercially in Maryland
• Oyster Harvester INDIVIDUAL Tag Requirements and Example
  
• Oyster Harvester BULK Tag Requirements and Example​​
  
• Bulk Tagging Wild Fishery FAQ​
  
• Historic Oyster Bars
• Public Shellfish Fishery Areas of the Chesapeake Bay and It's Tidal Tributaries June 2023
  
• County Oyster Committees
• Commercial Public Oyster Fishery Landings​​
  

Additional Links for Recreational Oyster Harvesters:​​​

• Oyster and Clam Recreational Harvest Rules Summary​
  
• A required $10 recreational oyster license is available under the Sport Fishing menu on ​​ compass.dnr.maryland.gov/​
  

Before going out recreational oystering it is important to be aware of places in your area which are closed to shellfishing. To find if there are any closures in your area, you should first check the State of Maryland Shellfish Closure Area book. The book has maps and coordinates for the Sanctuary and Reserve areas. The book also shows the boundaries of the historic oyster bars and can help you locate possible areas to find oysters. Other closed areas may be found on the Public Notice page under the "Shellfish Closures/Openings" tab. Additionally, the Maryland Department of the Environment may have closures in your area due to pollution, please refer to their website. Restricted areas are always closed to harvest, while conditional areas are closed if there is 1" or more of rain in any 24-hour period. To find out what conditional areas are closed after a rainfall, you can visit the website or call toll free 1-800-541-1210.

Oyster shell is an important and limited resource. So once you've enjoyed your oysters, please consider donating the leftover shells to the Oyster Recovery Partnership. The shells will go towards creating more oysters for a variety of projects around the Chesapeake Bay. The Oyster Recovery Partnership has public drop-off points around Maryland where your shells can be donated.

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Oyster Gardening Registration

Oyster gardeners and growers are now required to register with the Department of Natural Resources. The registration process begins February 1, 2013 and can be completed using an online form. Details regarding this registration requirement are available in a Fact S​heet on Oyster Gardening.

Shell Recycling Alliance​