MAN O WAR SHOAL, THE BEST FISHING REEF NORTH OF THE BAY BRIDGE
The ORP has come to the conclusion that Man O War Shoal should become the property of Commercial Oysterman in Maryland. As it has the largest deposit of prehistoric oyster shell available in the Chesapeake Bay that has been left after years and years of Fossil shell removal for replanting on commercial sites. The ORP and the CBF want to destroy Man O War for fisherman for all time. And by the way if we can stop them here they have a list ready of alternate sites they would be willing to destroy instead. Does anyone really care about fisherman north of the Bay Bridges? Does anyone really care that only 1% of the Native Oyster Bottom in the State of Maryland is left? Does anyone understand that if this prehistoric shell would be used for oyster sanctuary that over 3000 acres of bottom could be restored to help clean the bay. This shell should never be used for a put and take and take and take fishery.
The bill created to require the DNR to file an application and others about their plans are included below.
Attachment 1:
Project Description:
This project will permit the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) to dredge oyster shell from Man O War Shoals in Baltimore County, Maryland. Oyster shells will be recovered using hydraulic dredging equipment. The shells will be transported and planted at a variety of restoration sites around the Bay. The purpose of this project is to rehabilitate oyster bar habitat to enhance natural recruitment and/or provide a foundation for seed oysters to work toward the reestablishment of an abundant and self-sustaining oyster population in support of the Chesapeake Bay Program 2000 Agreement and the 2005 Oyster Management Plan.
Permit Time Period:
A 10-year period from 2009 through 2018 is being requested.
Time of Year that Shell will be Recovered and Planted:
Approval is requested to dredge and plant oyster shells year round.
Permit Areas for Shell Dredging:
Approval is requested for the Man O War Shoals area in Baltimore County (attachment 2).
Monitoring and Project Performance:
The environmental and socio-economic risks and benefits of this project will be monitored throughout the project period with a comprehensive evaluation provided to the permit agencies after five years.
Amount of Shell to be Recovered and Size of Shell Recovery Areas:
Authorization is requested for the recovery of up to 30 million bushels of shell during the 2009-2018 permit time period. This is approximately 30% of the estimated shell volume of Man O War Shoal. The amount of shell that will be recovered annually will be based upon the objectives and strategies of Maryland’s oyster recovery program as well as the available funding.
Methods for Shell Recovery and Planting:
Shells will be recovered using a dredging barge equipped with a hydraulic dredge using a cutter head and/or vacuum head that swings left and right. Dredge cuts will be made along the perimeter of the shoal, leaving a central “backbone” intact, to minimize any potential hydrological impact and to yield variable topography for fish habitat. The location of the cuts will be determined through surveys performed by DNR and in coordination with the Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission and other stakeholder groups working with DNR on this issue. Each dredge cut will be no wider than 500' and go no further than 1/3 the distance through the shoal, with a minimum of 75’ of un-dredged bottom left between cuts. Due to the varied thickness of the shell at Man O War Shoals, the cuts will vary in depth. Shell is estimated to vary from 15’ thick to possibly 40’ thick (Attachment 3). Shell will be dredged to a depth appropriate for the cut site and gear used by the contractor. A minimum thickness of 2 feet of shell will be left in place at the bottom of each cut.
The shells and shell fragments will be separated on site from the finer sediment materials and retained on a shell barge. The sediments will be discharged with the wash water that is used to clean the shells on the barge. The shells and shell fragments will then be transported to another site for planting, using high pressure water hoses or cannons to wash the material off the shell barge onto the oyster bar. In some cases (small sites) the shell material may be planted using a crane, excavator, or similar equipment to unload the barge.
Shell Planting Sites - Location and Size:
Replanting of the dredged shells will occur within the following oyster bar management designations: sanctuaries, harvest reserves and/or open harvest areas. The identification of shell planting sites will be based upon scientific findings of the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Oyster Restoration in the Chesapeake Bay and in coordination with the Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission, Maryland’s Tidewater Oyster Committees and other interested parties as needed. The planting of shell will also be consistent with the guidelines provided in the Chesapeake Bay Program Oyster Management Plan.
Assuming that the recovered shell will be replanted at an average thickness of 3-inches (7500 bushels per acre), and assuming the full 30 million bushels of requested volume will be utilized, it is estimated that 4000 acres will be planted over the 10 year time period of the permit. Shell planting will occur in depths predominantly from 8’ to 20’ since this is where oyster bars and oyster populations mostly occur. The thickness of the shell will be from 3” to 6” in most plantings but may be thicker in some cases. All plantings will maintain a minimum of 8’ clearance to preserve navigable waters.
Stakeholder Coordination:
The MD DNR will coordinate the shell dredging and planting program with the Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission, Tidewater Oyster Committees, and other interested parties as necessary. Included in this coordination will be the overall objectives for the program, the allocation of material among management designations, location of shell planting sites, project specification guidelines, and project performance standards.
Maryland Historical Trust has been consulted and determined that there are no archeological/cultural concerns within the proposed dredging area (Attachment 4). This project will have no impact to submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) as there are no SAV beds delineated in or adjacent to the proposed permit area (Attachment 5).
Project Justification:
Based on the Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission’s 2007 Interim report, clean (sediment-free) oyster shell or a comparable substrate is essential for successful settlement of oyster larvae. A recent study reported that more than 80% of Maryland’s oyster habitat has been significantly impacted by sediment over the past 25 years, and much of the habitat that remains is of poor quality consisting of shell with heavy sedimentation (Smith el al. 2005).
More than 10,000 acres of oyster bar habitat will likely need to be rehabilitated to re-establish a population of oysters comparable to the levels observed between 1920 and 1970. Given the estimated shell capacity of Man O War Shoals and the scale to which habitat rehabilitation is needed, MD DNR recognizes that shell dredging alone will not meet the habitat needs of the program. The ability of MD DNR and its oyster partners to achieve this objective will depend upon the prudent use of available oyster shells, combined implementation of new programs, and continued exploration of innovative strategies.
MD DNR is working closely with our oyster partners to develop alternative strategies for rehabilitating oyster bar habitat consistent with the guidelines provided in the 2005 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Management Plan. The strategies currently being pursued are an expanded alternate material program and a new program involving the recovery of shell that was previously planted as part of the upper bay shell program but which is currently covered with sediment.
References:
Smith, G. F., D. G. Bruce, E. B. Roach, A. Hansen, R. I. E. Newell, A. M. McManus. 2005. Assessment of Recent Habitat Conditions of Eastern Oyster Crassostrea virginicus Bars in Mesohaline Chesapeake Bay. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 25:1569-1590.
The ORP has come to the conclusion that Man O War Shoal should become the property of Commercial Oysterman in Maryland. As it has the largest deposit of prehistoric oyster shell available in the Chesapeake Bay that has been left after years and years of Fossil shell removal for replanting on commercial sites. The ORP and the CBF want to destroy Man O War for fisherman for all time. And by the way if we can stop them here they have a list ready of alternate sites they would be willing to destroy instead. Does anyone really care about fisherman north of the Bay Bridges? Does anyone really care that only 1% of the Native Oyster Bottom in the State of Maryland is left? Does anyone understand that if this prehistoric shell would be used for oyster sanctuary that over 3000 acres of bottom could be restored to help clean the bay. This shell should never be used for a put and take and take and take fishery.
The bill created to require the DNR to file an application and others about their plans are included below.
Attachment 1:
Project Description:
This project will permit the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) to dredge oyster shell from Man O War Shoals in Baltimore County, Maryland. Oyster shells will be recovered using hydraulic dredging equipment. The shells will be transported and planted at a variety of restoration sites around the Bay. The purpose of this project is to rehabilitate oyster bar habitat to enhance natural recruitment and/or provide a foundation for seed oysters to work toward the reestablishment of an abundant and self-sustaining oyster population in support of the Chesapeake Bay Program 2000 Agreement and the 2005 Oyster Management Plan.
Permit Time Period:
A 10-year period from 2009 through 2018 is being requested.
Time of Year that Shell will be Recovered and Planted:
Approval is requested to dredge and plant oyster shells year round.
Permit Areas for Shell Dredging:
Approval is requested for the Man O War Shoals area in Baltimore County (attachment 2).
Monitoring and Project Performance:
The environmental and socio-economic risks and benefits of this project will be monitored throughout the project period with a comprehensive evaluation provided to the permit agencies after five years.
Amount of Shell to be Recovered and Size of Shell Recovery Areas:
Authorization is requested for the recovery of up to 30 million bushels of shell during the 2009-2018 permit time period. This is approximately 30% of the estimated shell volume of Man O War Shoal. The amount of shell that will be recovered annually will be based upon the objectives and strategies of Maryland’s oyster recovery program as well as the available funding.
Methods for Shell Recovery and Planting:
Shells will be recovered using a dredging barge equipped with a hydraulic dredge using a cutter head and/or vacuum head that swings left and right. Dredge cuts will be made along the perimeter of the shoal, leaving a central “backbone” intact, to minimize any potential hydrological impact and to yield variable topography for fish habitat. The location of the cuts will be determined through surveys performed by DNR and in coordination with the Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission and other stakeholder groups working with DNR on this issue. Each dredge cut will be no wider than 500' and go no further than 1/3 the distance through the shoal, with a minimum of 75’ of un-dredged bottom left between cuts. Due to the varied thickness of the shell at Man O War Shoals, the cuts will vary in depth. Shell is estimated to vary from 15’ thick to possibly 40’ thick (Attachment 3). Shell will be dredged to a depth appropriate for the cut site and gear used by the contractor. A minimum thickness of 2 feet of shell will be left in place at the bottom of each cut.
The shells and shell fragments will be separated on site from the finer sediment materials and retained on a shell barge. The sediments will be discharged with the wash water that is used to clean the shells on the barge. The shells and shell fragments will then be transported to another site for planting, using high pressure water hoses or cannons to wash the material off the shell barge onto the oyster bar. In some cases (small sites) the shell material may be planted using a crane, excavator, or similar equipment to unload the barge.
Shell Planting Sites - Location and Size:
Replanting of the dredged shells will occur within the following oyster bar management designations: sanctuaries, harvest reserves and/or open harvest areas. The identification of shell planting sites will be based upon scientific findings of the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Oyster Restoration in the Chesapeake Bay and in coordination with the Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission, Maryland’s Tidewater Oyster Committees and other interested parties as needed. The planting of shell will also be consistent with the guidelines provided in the Chesapeake Bay Program Oyster Management Plan.
Assuming that the recovered shell will be replanted at an average thickness of 3-inches (7500 bushels per acre), and assuming the full 30 million bushels of requested volume will be utilized, it is estimated that 4000 acres will be planted over the 10 year time period of the permit. Shell planting will occur in depths predominantly from 8’ to 20’ since this is where oyster bars and oyster populations mostly occur. The thickness of the shell will be from 3” to 6” in most plantings but may be thicker in some cases. All plantings will maintain a minimum of 8’ clearance to preserve navigable waters.
Stakeholder Coordination:
The MD DNR will coordinate the shell dredging and planting program with the Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission, Tidewater Oyster Committees, and other interested parties as necessary. Included in this coordination will be the overall objectives for the program, the allocation of material among management designations, location of shell planting sites, project specification guidelines, and project performance standards.
Maryland Historical Trust has been consulted and determined that there are no archeological/cultural concerns within the proposed dredging area (Attachment 4). This project will have no impact to submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) as there are no SAV beds delineated in or adjacent to the proposed permit area (Attachment 5).
Project Justification:
Based on the Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission’s 2007 Interim report, clean (sediment-free) oyster shell or a comparable substrate is essential for successful settlement of oyster larvae. A recent study reported that more than 80% of Maryland’s oyster habitat has been significantly impacted by sediment over the past 25 years, and much of the habitat that remains is of poor quality consisting of shell with heavy sedimentation (Smith el al. 2005).
More than 10,000 acres of oyster bar habitat will likely need to be rehabilitated to re-establish a population of oysters comparable to the levels observed between 1920 and 1970. Given the estimated shell capacity of Man O War Shoals and the scale to which habitat rehabilitation is needed, MD DNR recognizes that shell dredging alone will not meet the habitat needs of the program. The ability of MD DNR and its oyster partners to achieve this objective will depend upon the prudent use of available oyster shells, combined implementation of new programs, and continued exploration of innovative strategies.
MD DNR is working closely with our oyster partners to develop alternative strategies for rehabilitating oyster bar habitat consistent with the guidelines provided in the 2005 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Management Plan. The strategies currently being pursued are an expanded alternate material program and a new program involving the recovery of shell that was previously planted as part of the upper bay shell program but which is currently covered with sediment.
References:
Smith, G. F., D. G. Bruce, E. B. Roach, A. Hansen, R. I. E. Newell, A. M. McManus. 2005. Assessment of Recent Habitat Conditions of Eastern Oyster Crassostrea virginicus Bars in Mesohaline Chesapeake Bay. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 25:1569-1590.
