TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL EASTERN FISH HEALTH WORKSHOP Royal Pavilion Resort, Atlantic Beach, NC MARCH 9-11, 1999 Where Did All The Oysters Go? The History Of The Chesapeake Bay Oyster Resource: Overfishing, Disease And Climate Eugene M. Burreson Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William and Mary, Gloucester Point, VA 23062 Oysters in Chesapeake Bay evolved on intertidal reefs because they facilitate spawning efficiency and predator protection. Prior to about 1800 harvest of oysters from Chesapeake Bay was low and most were used for local consumption. Between about 1810 and 1830 there was increasing harvest of oysters for transport by schooner to New England. The development of the railroad and of canning by 1850 greatly increased the demand for oysters. Shucking houses and canning operations developed and in the 1860s Baltimore became the center of oyster trade for the Chesapeake Bay. Harvest peaked in the 1880s at around 21 million bushels per year. There was a dramatic decline to around 3 million bushels per year by 1910 as oyster beds were over fished in both states. Over harvesting also destroyed the reefs themselves because shell was removed and not returned to the Bay. Beginning in the 1960s diseases became increasingly important and further reduced the harvest gradually to around 100,000 bushels. Diseases were exacerbated by climatic factors including prolonged drought conditions in the late 1980s. Current restoration efforts focus on rebuilding oyster reefs and setting them aside as sanctuaries. Return to 24th Annual Eastern Fish Health Workshop Return to Leetown Science Center Home Page