UNDERSTANDING PARTICIPATION IN MARYLAND OYSTER AQUACULTURE

Management of Maryland's oyster resource has comprised over a century of vacillating policy and polarized constituent concerns that have led to a stunted aquaculture industry in comparison to other oyster-producing areas.  A heavily revised lease program in 2010 enabled development of the industry by minimizing barriers and encouraging the entry of new producers.  These legislative changes, combined with a suite of government support programs that included financing, education, seed production and other opportunities, have opened the door for an annually increasing number of independent oyster growers in Maryland, and may represent a complementary livelihood that can help to ease the pressure placed on the state's wild oyster population.  Aquaculture may also represent a more stable livelihood relative to wild harvest, potentially allowing for greater resilience against future resource changes.  Important to the growth of oyster aquaculture in Maryland is the support and involvement of commercial oyster harvesters, known locally as watermen.

This study aims to provide a rich description of who is participating in Maryland oyster aquaculture.  Through participant observation and semi-structured interviews targeting themes of livelihood diversification, economic investment, heritage, bay restoration, oyster management, and future resilience, we ask why individuals, including watermen, have chosen to take on aquaculture and, similarly important, why many watermen have chosen not to.  Understanding the perceived resistance by watermen toward oyster aquaculture is important to develop more inclusive and effective management programs for Maryland oysters.

Currently, in the first year of the project, several themes are beginning to emerge.  Initial work suggests differences among individuals with regard to identification as a waterman as well as features distinguishing oyster aquaculture from the wild harvest.  Additionally, though livelihood diversification is occurring among those participating in aquaculture and functions as a means of enhancing resilience, it is not immediately recognized by participants.  Consideration of future environmental change impacting the Chesapeake region is not a common concern among interviewees when choosing to take on aquaculture.  Further work will continue to tease out the factors keeping many watermen away from aquaculture and investigate the role of social networks in the decision to participate.

This paper describes the development of the project and the results that have been obtained to date, as well as showing the pathway that will lead to the final report. Potential uses for the data will be suggested as a means of understanding the decision process of those who enter the shellfish industry.