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Hugo Hernandez
Professor Harper
English 101-103
December 5, 2014

The Declining Of Oysters Has Affected The Ecosystem Of The Chesapeake Bay

The Eastern Shore oyster is important to the state of Maryland because it helps the
Chesapeake Bay by taking care of the ecosystem. The oysters of the Chesapeake Bay are the
regions most valuable commercial crustaceans. The Eastern Shore oysters are Marylands most
iconic species in the Chesapeake Bay, apart from the blue crab and the skipjack of course. This
being said, the oyster population is very important to the ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration acknowledges that disease, poor water
quality, habitat loss, and harvest pressure has limited the success of the oysters habitat
restoration (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Oysters are natural filters,
which mean that oysters provide better water quality. The ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay
depends on the population of the Eastern Shore Oysters because it provides Maryland with a
clean and healthy bay and shellfish that brings great profit to the state.
The oyster population has a major role when it comes to cleaning the bay, and its
decrease in numbers has affected the contamination of the Chesapeake Bay. The National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations claims, Since colonial times, the Chesapeake Bay
has lost more than 98% of its oysters (NOAA). This being said, the population oysters have
dropped tremendously, which affects the filtering of the water. Adult Oysters can filter up to 50
gallons of water per day by eating algae, removing dirt, and nitrogen pollution. Oysters are

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natural filters, which means if the oyster population declines, then the amount of water filtered,
also declines. The health of the Chesapeake Bay depends on the oysters and vice versa.
Stephanie Reynolds Westby, NOAA's Chesapeake Bay oyster restoration coordinator reminds us
that There used to be so many oysters here that they filtered the entire volume of the Bay about
every three days; Today, the same volume is filtered about once a yearnot nearly fast enough
to keep the water clear (NOAA). Basically, Westby is stating the fact that there has been a
change in the amount of water being cleaned due to decline of the oyster population.
While living in the Eastern Shore, Ive always heard people say that one was able to see
30 feet into the bay. Now, a person cannot even see ones toes when looking down into the
water. I do not know if this is true, but cleaning the Chesapeake Bay will not only allow us to see
our toes, but it will provide major benefits to our ecosystem and to the economy to the state of
Maryland. The Chesapeake Bay is part of Maryland and it provides with economic resources,
including crabs, oysters, rockfish, and for ones personal amusement such as swimming, fishing,
and boating. One important factor to cleaning the bays is to provide marine life with clean water.
The filter feeding oysters on the floor of the Chesapeake Bay served as water purifier. Connolly
states Now, with the oyster population of Chesapeake bay at around one percent of its historic
level, menhaden have become the most important filter feeder in the bay (Connolly). Filter
feeders serve multiple functions in the ecosystem because they create suitable conditions for
marine life by filtering suspended phytoplankton, zooplankton. As the NOAA reminds us the
filtering of these planktons allows sunlight to nourish aquatic plants, which release dissolved
oxygen into the Chesapeake Bay (NOAA). A clean Bay would provide oysters and other
marine animals of sustain a healthy life spam. An increase in marine life would provide the
waterman with more harvesting, therefore bringing more income into the state. These all are

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good reasons why the Chesapeake Bays ecosystem is important. The oysters sustain life, help
the economy, and are ones of Marylands wonders.
The Crassostrea Virginica (The eastern oyster) is part of Marylands most treasured
crustaceans, because it helps keep the Chesapeake Bay clean and it also helps Maryland
economics. Oysters are one of the most valuable crustaceans in the Chesapeake Bay because of
its original flavor. In the late 1800s there was an increase of oyster harvesting, which damaged
the Chesapeake Bay. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources demonstrates that the
oyster population has doubled since 2010, reaching its highest population stage since 1985
(Maryland Department of Natural Resources). In other words, the population of oyster in the bay
has increased, which brings hope into restoring the bay. Also, oysters bring profit to the state due
to the desirable taste. The harvest of oysters depends on the population. The more oysters there
are, the more bushels a waterman can collect. Charles Hugh Stevenson wrote a book in 1894
called The Oyster Industry of Maryland, He states that in 1870 the catch of oysters ranged
between 9,000,000 and 14,000,000 bushels, which valued around 3,869,000 dollars (Stevenson
212). The Maryland Department of Natural Resources declares that in 2010 and 2012 that the
harvest reports have reached 400,000 bushels (Maryland Department of Natural Resources).
Oysters are not only essential to the ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay, but its also plays a vital
role to the Marylands economy.
The overharvesting of oysters has made the most impact of the decline in the oyster
population. In the late 1800s, there was an increase in oyster harvesting that affected the oyster
population and many other factors. Stevenson also talks about how tongs are used to rip out
oyster beds out of the bottom of the bay. The usage of thongs not only destroyed habitats for
small animals, but it also destroyed years of work that the oysters took to build those beds

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(Stevenson 214). The largest oyster producing body of water in the United States is located in
the Chesapeake Bay and the oyster beds have decreased in numbers due to overfishing. Although
the population is increasing, the rate at which the oysters are growing is not fast enough to filter
the bay as they used to do in the past. The native Eastern oyster plays an important role in the
Bays ecosystem because they feed s and providing a safer habitat for small animals by filtering
water. Overharvesting and pollution found in the Chesapeake has both affected the population of
the Eastern oyster.
The oyster population has also been affected by salinity, decades of overharvesting, and
water pollution. Salinity is the major environmental factor that has affected the oyster
community. John Alford is an assistant professor of geography at Rutgers University. He
discusses that there is a lack of oyster eggs in the bay. The Eastern Shore oysters have a difficult
time reproducing in waters that contains less than five ppt (parts per thousand) salinity, and the
Chesapeake Bays salinity ranges from less than five ppt (Alford). Pollution is another factor of
the decline of oysters. For example, the water of the bay is already affected by salinity, and
adding pollution is going to do a little more damage to the reproduction of oysters. Where is the
pollution coming from? Well, Maryland is also famous for farming poultry. Benjamin Fertig
who works as a bio indicator did a research on how poultry farming has impacted the water
quality in the Chesapeake Bay. He states that chickens outnumber people 1,000 to 1 on
Marylands Eastern Shore, and this is soaring chicken-to-human ratio has a major drawback:
manure. Chicken produce 1.5 billion pounds of manure. The manure contains nitrogen and
phosphorus and the two are major polluters of the Bay (Fertig). Years of pollution have reduced
the oxygen levels in the bay waters, which create dead zones according to Fertig, and this ends
up killing aquatic life (Fertig). Oysters filter nitrogen of out of the water by converting into

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oxygen. The problem with this is that the population is such at a low stage that most of what the
oysters filter out is put right back into the bay. This goes to show that the combination of not
being able to reproduce in an adequate environment and decades of harvesting and pollution
have contributed to the decline of the oyster population and the health of the Bay.
Another contributor of the declining of the oysters, are the predators known as
Urosalpnix cinerea and Eupleura cudata. These organisms are small snails that are about an inch
and a half in length, which commonly kill 60-70% of the oyster eggs (Alford). Natural selection
is going to happen no matter what, human beings cannot control how natural selection works, its
just part of nature. Although, human beings can control the harvesting of oysters and the
pollution that is being deposited in the Chesapeake Bay. Federal agencies have made up a plan
for improving the health of the Chesapeake Bay. State governments and federal agencies are
targeting for 2025 to achieve major improvements in water quality. According to Landers who
wrote an article on a strategic plan to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay says, In order for
the water quality to improve, there needs to be a reduction of sediments, nutrients, and other
chemicals contaminants (Landers). Also, to achieve these reductions the Environmental
protection Agency (EPA) will be working with the states to establish what is known to be the
Chesapeake Bay total maximum daily load (Landers). Lander explains what the Chesapeake Bay
total maximum daily load means He states, The various TMDLs will include limits on nitrogen,
phosphorus, and sediment sufficient to achieve state-determined water quality standards for
dissolved oxygen, water clarity, and chlorophyll, an indicator of alga levels (Landers). Although
I agree with the federal agencies up to a point, I declare that instead of reducing the amounts of
nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment, the agencies should also focus on increasing the oyster
populations. Oysters filter water, which makes the water cleaner, allowing sunlight to reach

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aquatic plants, which provides oxygen to the bay. As the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
administration states, in the late nineteenth century, the Bays oysters could filter a volume of
water equal to that of the entire Bay in three or four days; todays population takes nearly a year
to filter this same amount (NOAA). Now, imagine if the agencies would help the states get the
oyster population as it was in the late nineteenth century; all the cleaning would be done
naturally by the oysters. The agencies will not only be helping the population of oysters in the
bay grow, but also helping Marylands economy. The Eastern shore oyster is Marylands most
important crustacean. Although I grant that the federal agencies do have a good plan, Im still
maintain that helping the oyster population grow will bring more benefits to the ecosystem of the
Chesapeake Bay. So, I state that the agencies should provide with more funding to help states
produce more oysters beds and also focusing on reducing amount of nitrogen and phosphorus
produced by poultry farms.
In Conclusion, Oysters have a major role in Maryland; the ecosystem depends on the
oysters filtering system, and the state for economy purposes. The oysters are Marylands most
iconic creatures. The oyster population has been affected by many factors such as
overharvesting, pollution, predators, and poor water quality. There are many organizations that
are helping by increasing the population, but there is a lot more work to be done in order for the
population of oyster to reach a healthy point of their population. The Crassostrea virginica not
only filters water, but it also provides a habitat for small fishes and crabs. Over time, oysters
settle on top of each other and grow forming reefs that provide a habitat for many aquatic
species. The population is slowly increasing, but with the help of these organizations and
agencies, the oyster population might be able to reach a point where is okay to harvest them
again without damaging the ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay.

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Work Cited

Alford, John J. "The Chesapeake Oyster Fishery." Annals Of The Association Of American
Geographers 65.2 (1975): 229-239. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.
Connolly, Patrick j. "Saving Fish To Save The Bay: Public Trust Doctrine Protection For
Menhaden's Foundational Ecosystem Services In The Chesapeake Bay." Boston College
Environmental Affairs Law Review 36.1 (2009): 135-169. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 6 Oct. 2014.
Fertig, B, Carruthers, TJ, & Dennison, WC 2014, 'Oyster 15N as a Bioindicator of Potential
Wastewater and Poultry Farming Impacts and Degraded Water Quality in a Subestuary of
Chesapeake Bay', Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 881-892. Available
from: 10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-11-00231.1. [20 November 2014].
Landers, Jay. "Federal Agencies Release Plan For Improving Health Of Chesapeake Bay." Civil
Engineering (08857024) 80.7 (2010): 28-30. Business Source Premier. Web. 7 Oct.
2014.
Maryland Department of Natural Resources. "Maryland DNR Fisheries Service (for
Pda/handhelds)." Marylands Oyster Population Continues to Improve, Highest since
1985. Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 5 July 2014. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Oysters - Fish Facts Chesapeakebay.noaa.gov." Oysters - Fish Facts - Chesapeakebay.noaa.gov. National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2014.
Stevenson, Charles Hugh. The Oyster Industry of Maryland. Washington: Govt. Print. Off.,
1894. Print.