Study analyzes half-century of oyster poaching enforcement
Nearly 5,300 citations for illegal oyster harvesting (poaching) were issued by Maryland's Marine Police in the Chesapeake Bay between 1959 and 2010, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Maryland. A review of the state's enforcement and judicial records shows more poaching citations were issued in years when oyster harvesting employment dropped compared to years when employment was high, which the authors indicate may be explained by the increased economic pressure to harvest illegally during lean harvesting years. Almost three out of four poaching citations were issued for harvesting unculled or undersized oysters, which harms the oysters' ability to grow and reproduce, and therefore the population's recovery in the Bay.