Goal: To help local watermen communities develop sustainable, small-scale oyster farming and, in a small way, restore oysters to Chesapeake Bay.
The roughly 1,200 inhabitants of Smith Island, MD and Tangier Island, VA are the direct descendants of British colonists who first settled these isolated Chesapeake Bay islands in the mid 1600s. The islands’ economies have long depended on crab and oyster harvesting. Recent declines in oyster resources threaten the watermen’s livelihood and their children’s future on the islands.
To offer an additional economic option compatible with the islands’ unique traditions, we designed a project, modeled after successful French and Irish approaches, that develops an integrated oyster industry, capable of producing, processing and marketing oysters almost year-round. We conducted oyster-farming workshops on both islands in July 1998, and began a pilot oyster culture project for Smith Island watermen in spring 1999.
We developed a marketing business plan for the watermen (for a copy, click here), and provided access to Washington, DC-area restaurants, seafood retail markets and wholesalers. In so doing, we demonstrated the marketability of Smith Island oysters, selling some oysters to a number of establishments, and eliciting the interest of many more.
The watermen’s story can be an effective marketing tool that, combined with direct sales, can increase revenues going directly to them.
The watermen received ongoing technical and marketing advice. Although as a commercial operation the project stopped because of state-imposed shellfish harvesting closures and related issues, some watermen have continued to grow oysters. Future project success will ultimately depend on the number of watermen involved, their success in raising and marketing oysters and their ability to make the industry economically self-sustaining.
Client: A consortium of state and federal agencies, universities, nonprofits, extension services and watermen. Funded by grants from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, the Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Sustainable Development.
TerrAqua’s role: Help develop and manage the project, and acquire funding.