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OYSTER POPULATUION ESTIMATION IN SUPPORT OF THE TEN-YEAR GOAL FOR OYSTER RESOTRATION IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY: DEVELOPING STRATEGIES FOR RESTORING AND MANAGING THE EASTERN OYSTER
Citation:
Mann, R., S J. Jordan, G. Smith, K. Paynter, J. Wesson, M. Christman, J. Vanisko, J. Harding, K. Greenhawk, AND M. Southworth. OYSTER POPULATUION ESTIMATION IN SUPPORT OF THE TEN-YEAR GOAL FOR OYSTER RESOTRATION IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY: DEVELOPING STRATEGIES FOR RESTORING AND MANAGING THE EASTERN OYSTER. In Proceedings, Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research Program: Research Project Symposium, Annapolis, MD, March 24, 2003. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ann Arbor, MI, 65--69, (2003).
Impact/Purpose:
Symposium proceedings in Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research Program: Research Project Symposium.
Description:
Mann, Roger, Steve Jordan, Gary Smith, Kennedy Paynter, James Wesson, Mary Christman, Jessica Vanisko, Juliana Harding, Kelly Greenhawk and Melissa Southworth. 2003. Oyster Population Estimation in Support of the Ten-Year Goal for Oyster Restoration in the Chesapeake Bay: Developing Strategies for Restoring and Managing the Eastern Oyster. In: Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research Program: Research Project Symposium, March 24, 2003, Patuxent Wildlife Refuge Visitor's Center, Laurel, Maryland. NOAA Cheseapeake Bay Office, Annapolis, MD. Pp. 65-69. (ERL,GB X1056).
The dramatic decline of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791), population in the Chesapeake Bay during the last century has impacted the ecosystem and economy of the region. A collaborative project was initiated between researchers in Maryland and Virginia with the goal of quantifying the baseline oyster population, and establishing the monitoring, data management, and data analysis frameworks for measuring progress toward the Chesapeake 2000 oyster restoration goal of a ten-year, ten-fold increase. Using fishery independent dredge surveys in Maryland, oyster abundance from 1994 to 2002 ranged from 1.60 to 5.55 x 108 oysters, with a mean of 4.14 x 108 oysters, and with a current standing stock of approximately 279,245 bushels. Intensive patent tong surveys in the James River, Virginia between 1993 and 2000 indicate a fairly stable population of 4.41 and 6.30 x 108 oysters with a current standing stock of approximately 365,000 bushels. The grand total estimates for the Virginia productive bottoms using both patent tong and dredge data vary from 5.31 x 109 to 6.00 x 1011 oysters.