Support for oysters

Friday, July 18, 2008

As a group committed to restoring sustainable populations of oysters to local waters, we endorse any effort to raise oysters in Southern Maryland.

The residents of Hellen Creek as well as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation are both to be commended for their projects.

We were pleased to see The Calvert Recorder opinion piece in the July 11 edition call attention to their efforts and particularly value your recognition of the value of community support for creating healthier waters.

I would add to your list of local projects the collaborative efforts of the Calvert County Watermen’s Association and Morgan State University at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum to raise oysters for harvest at the mouth of Hellen Creek. We applaud all these groups and wish them every success.

We would also like to add our group to your list. Over the past year, the Southern Maryland Oyster Cultivation Society (SMOCS), has been receiving strong support from individuals, business groups, community associations and state agencies for a program that will raise more than 1 million oysters annually for deposit in sanctuaries in Solomons Harbor, not far from Hellen Creek. SMOCS’ goal is to accumulate a large enough number of oysters in these creeks to produce a measurable improvement in water quality. At 55 gallons per oyster, that would mean a significant localized reduction in algae.

This could result in, among other things, the return of submerged plants that provide refuge for molting crabs.

SMOCS, like the residents of Hellen Creek, looks to clean pollution from local waters — one oyster at a time.

Len Zuza, Lusby

The writer is the president of Southern Maryland Oyster Cultivation Society.