What's Next for Fish Farmers?

R e s e a rch, Education, Outre a c h Volume 19, Number 6

SPOTLIGHT ON AQUACULTURE What’s Next for Fish Farmers? Gauging the Future of a Fledgling Industry BY MERRILL LEFFLER

specially formulated feeds. Filtration is key to maintaining water quality, since contaminants can not only produce off-flavors, lowering the value of his product, but can also sicken or even kill the fish — and put a serious dent in Sheriff’s investment. If all goes well, depending on the species, fish will be ready for market in six to seven months (for yellow perch and bluegills) or nine months (for tilapia) or a year (for hybrid striped bass). Although the clean tanks at Del- marva Fisheries seem on track for pr oducing a wholesome and valuable seafood product, the record for aqua- cu l t u r e that relies on rec i r culating systems has posted as many failures as successes. The reason: raising fish for pr ofit depends on conquering a suite of challenges, and often raising fish is not the toughest part. “G r owing fish is the least of my pr oblems,” says Sheriff. In addition to In each tank here at Delmarva ot far from Cambridge on watching the tanks, feeding the fish Fisheries 12,000 gallons of water pass Maryland’s Eastern Shore and and cleaning the water, Sheriff, like th r ough clarifiers that remove solids Nmiles from the Choptank River, other aquaculturists, has to worry and then through biological filters fish circle the confines of 40-foot rec - about where the next crop of finger- that break down chemical wastes and tangular tanks. Though separated lings will come from, and, with low- leave them harmless. Unlike the tur- fr om the docks and deadrisers associ- price imports from South America bid waters of the Chesapeake, the ated with fishing on the Chesapeake, and Asia, about who will buy his fish water in these tanks, under the build- for Rick Sheriff these fish rep re s e n t once they’re ready for market. ing’s low roof and low lighting, looks his catch, his form of food prod u c - “I concentrate on fingerling sup- nearly transparent. tion. Clean water continually circu - plies and marketing,” Sherrif says. By all appearances, this is the way lates through each of Sheriff’s thirteen According to Sea Grant Extension closed-system farming is supposed to tanks, which sit in an out-of-the-way specialist Don Web s t e r , that’s the right work. Sheriff gets fingerlings from industrial park in Hurlock, Maryland. thing to do. “More aquaculture fails hatcheries that raise juveniles in high Water quality, if all works right, is because of business management numbers, then nourishes them with completely under his control . than system management,” says Web -

A Maryland Sea Grant Publication Re c i r culating systems can be located anywhere and don’t depend on expensive waterfro n t pr operty or un p r edictable water supplies pumped from a river or bay.

wise, the Department of Natural Re s o u r ces operates a hatchery where it has spawned some six million shad larvae for release into the Patuxent This 12,000-gallon recirculating tank, with an automated feeding system, teems with and Choptank rivers. tilapia at feeding time. Systems like this one, located in a converted barn on an Eastern DN R is using “Reproboost” tech- Shore fish farm, offer the control and economy needed to grow fish profitably. nologies, implants that release hormones over a period of time that st e r . Fingerlings, too, pose a major ing cages off the coasts of Maine and induce fish to spawn in captivity. pr oblem, according to Web s t e r , since Washington state. U.S. shellfish farm- Developed at the Center of Marine fish farmers must have a reliable sup- ers also cultivate oysters on the north- Biotechnology (COMB), part of the ply of the fingerlings they want when west and northeast coasts, and mus- University of Maryland Biotechnology they want to raise them. sels, crawfish and clams on the east Institute, these time-release implants “Rick’s system can grow fish prof - and Gulf coasts. Still, all told, the U.S. have made it possible to prod u c e itably,” says Robert Butz, a dairy and imports a great deal more seafood la r ge numbers of larvae that tradi- grain farmer in western Maryland than it exports, carrying an annual $5 tional spawning techniques could not who is now farming fish in tanks, billion seafood trade deficit. No won- de l i v e r . “but that’s not the complete story. der that the U.S. Department of Com- In addition to providing juveniles You need others to supply fingerlings me r ce’s Aquaculture Plan calls for the for stock enhancement, res e a rc h e r s — you need industry support when nation to invest more of its res e a rc h use hatchery-rea r ed strains to test for you get in trouble. This is still a fron - and expertise in raising domestic disease tolerance — in the effort, for tier mentality.” seafood products. example, to manage around the oys- In Maryland and the mid-Atlantic, ter diseases, MSX and Dermo . fa r med fish production for consump- Tough Times on the Frontier Beyond this, aquaculture is now play- tion hardly registers — aquaculture’ s The rearing of fish, shellfish and ing an important role in education as la r gest economic impact still comes aquatic plants — known generally as well — numbers of Maryland elemen- fr om ornamental fish. In Maryland, aq u a c u l t u r e — may be the aquatic tary and middle and high school the largest and most profitable aqua- equivalent of land-based agricultural teachers are using aquaculture to cultural production comes from Hunt- husbandry, but it lags far behind its teach students about biology and ing Creek in the western reaches of te r r estrial sibling. ecology by growing fish in tanks (see the state, which for eighty years has Though slow to catch on in this si d e b a r , “Aquaculture in the Class- pr oduced fish for the aquarium trade. country, the cultivation of fish is roo m ” ) . Another important role of aquaculture hardly new, going back at least 2000 Despite these important and in the Chesapeake region continues years in China, which may be why, worthwhile roles for aquaculture, the to be its use in proactive res t o r a t i o n with its long head start, China far out- bottomline for entrep r eneurs like Rick ef forts. Aquaculture has proven cen- paces other countries in overall aqua- Sh e r i f f and Robert Butz rem a i n s tral to efforts to res t o r e the Bay’s cu l t u r e production. That nation alone financial. What they bank on is a shad and oyster populations, for accounts for some 70 percent of mo r e controlled method of farmi n g example. At the University of Mary- fa r med fish each year, while the U.S. fish — not in ponds and not in net- land Center for Environmental Sci- trails far behind, a distant eighth at pens, where water quality and the ence (UMCES), the Horn Point Hatch- one percent of world prod u c t i o n . pr oblem of effluents can create envi- ery has produced more than ninety Most U.S. production comes from ronmental challenges — but in com- pe r cent of the disease-free spat used catfish grown in ponds in the Missis- pletely enclosed environments, rec i r - to reseed oyster bars in the Bay. Like- sippi delta and salmon raised in float- culating tanks, that offer the kind of

2 • MARYLAND MARINE NOTES At a recent meeting at the UMCES Ho r n Point Laboratory, Webster and Sea Grant Extension aquaculture spe- The Science of Closed Systems cialist Andy Lazur brought together university res e a r chers with Maryland ne of the country’s leading res e a rc h aquaculturists who hope to raise, in Oinstitutions in developing marine rec i r culating systems, species such as indoor rec i r culating systems is the Uni- tilapia, yellow perch, hybrid bluegills versity of Maryland’s Center of Marine and hybrid striped bass. There are Biotechnology (COMB) in Baltimore’ s other species to consider as well — Inner Harbor. Led by Yonathan Zohar, including marine species like the sea COMB is taking a multidisciplinary br eam. “What we wanted to learn, ” ap p r oach for moving fundamental says Lazur, “were the major prob l e m s res e a r ch from the lab to the farm. While that growers face, so we could set Zohar’s work involves analyzing the out a course of assistance to help this rep r oductive hormones and biochemical fledgling industry.” reactions that cause fish to become The model for this kind of cooper- gravid, COMB res e a r chers have been ation is well established. After all, focusing on a suite of other issues as de t e r mining res e a r ch needs by bring- well, from nutritional needs of diffe re n t ing scientists together with farme r s life stages to new microbial communi- has been at the heart of agricultural ties that can make marine circu l a t i o n development in the United States for systems more economically feasible. A mo r e than 100 years. Aquaculture major concern in aquaculture of carni v - Yonathan Zohar with sea bream. expert Reginal Harrell, Eastern Shore or ous species is the use of fish meal in di r ector of the Maryland Agricultural fish feed. As Zohar says, “we’re taking fish to feed fish.” That is one rea - Experiment Station, explains it this son that they have begun studying new feed formulations that can way: “Research does the underwriting reduce dependence on wild-caught fish. work, while Extension can demon- Mo r e than a decade ago, Zohar came to the U.S. from Israel, which strate it and educate the work force . ” has a highly developed aquaculture industry. He and his colleagues in Industry then takes over, he says. Ba l t i m o r e have successfully spawned both striped bass and sea bream, a “They need to make the tough deci- high value and popular European species farmed in netpens in the sions. But they can’t afford to make Mediterranean. Not only have they spawned them, but they have devel- the big investment and lose the ani- oped techniques to enhance their growth. While sea bream norma l l y mals to find out what the best take about sixteen months to grow from fingerling stage to one-pound answers are. Our job is to get scien- market size, in COMB’s specially controlled rec i r culating marine systems, tifically credible answers.” sea bream have been brought to harvest in a mere nine months. Sea bream, notes Zohar, appear on the menus of numbers of seafood Reducing the Risk of Failure restaurants in this country, and he believes U.S. aquaculturists could raise While fish farmers identified a sea bream in rec i r culating tanks and market them profitably. He admits, number of problems, by far their ho w e v e r , that upfront investment costs will likely prove sizeable, and biggest complaint was their inability that despite the high price that sea bream now commands, it may take a to get fingerlings — their “seed” — private aquaculturist a couple of years to realize profits. These are the when they needed them. kinds of considerations aquaculturists have to deal with as the industry Part of solving this prob l e m , continues to mature. according to Web s t e r , is strategic. “The key to rec i r culating systems is management and economy req u i re d industry that will one day make fish flexibility,” Webster says. “Grow e r s for a profitable enterprise. Such sys- pr oduction in Maryland as viable an can’t focus on one species and expect tems, they argue, can be located any- endeavor as agricultural prod u c t i o n to stay there. If one species becomes wh e r e — not only in rural areas like has been for centuries. uneconomical, they better be able to Hurlock or western Maryland, but in move into something else.” wa r ehouses in cities like Baltimore, On the Trail of Recirculating And yet with the exception of a says Yonathan Zohar, director of Systems few species — tilapia in particular — COMB. They don’t depend on expen- In res e a r ch labs across the Univer- gr owers have faced limits to their sive waterfr ont property or unpre- sity System of Maryland, res e a rc h e r s flexibility because hatcheries have not dictable water supplies pumped from ar e working to develop capabilities yet proven able to spawn diffe re n t a river or bay. that could help turn the potential of species on a regular basis. Pioneers like Sheriff and Butz aq u a c u l t u r e into a long-prom i s e d Though res e a r chers are making hope to find niches in an aquaculture reality. solid advances in university laborato-

VOLUME 19, NUMBER 6 • 3 ries, new technologies are only beginning to make their way to com- me r cial hatcheries, and compared Aq u a c u l t u r e in the Classroo m with land-based agriculture, aquacul- tu r e has a long way to go. Unlike hat do you think fa r m animals that have been geneti- Wabout when you cally bred, for example, most fish think about aquacul- species are either captured in a tu r e? Catfish in Missis- gravid state from spawning grou n d s , sippi ponds? Salmon in or they are rea r ed in hatcheries for a cages along the coast short time. An entire year’s prod u c - of Maine? tion of larvae may depend on the Educators like brief spawning period of captured Adam Frederick and fish. Though several hatcheries have Bob Foor-Hogue think ma s t e r ed the ability to produce tilapia of ecology. And biol- ye a r- r ound, that is not the case for ogy. They also think of species such as yellow perch and calculus and physics, hybrid bluegill. of water pres s u r e and Even year-r ound control l e d biofilters, of tanks that spawning of high quality tilapia fin- teachers can build gerlings does not secure success. themselves. They think of students learni n g Students in teacher Bob Foor-Hogue’s science Though a highly tolerant warm- w a t e r classes at South Carroll High School not only built species that accommodates close about all these things, this aquaculture system, but use it to raise fish to quarters and fluctuating water quality, using live fish, and release into streams and rivers that lead to the Bay. tilapia, like all cultivated species, then they think of whether on land or sea, still faces the those same students vagaries of the marketplace. This les- releasing fish they have raised into Chesapeake tributaries, part of a son became clear several years back, statewide grassroots restoration effort. when a reliance on tilapia left a num- Fr ederick, a marine education specialist for Maryland Sea Grant ber of businesses in jeopardy, as low- Extension located at the Center of Marine Biotechnology, and Foor- cost imports sent prices plunging. Hogue, an award-winning teacher in the Carroll County Public Schools, Because they could not ride out the have been working to create a network of “aquaculture educators” in loss or switch to another species, a Maryland. By partnering with local school systems, they are seeding a number of growers were forced out number of model programs that use aquaculture as a tool for teaching of business. science. Again, as marine agent Don Web - Fr ederick and Foor-Hogue, along with Sea Grant educator Jackie ster says, it’s the business part that Takacs, have organized a series of workshops entitled “Aquaculture in can prove the most difficult nut to Action” to engage educators in “hands on” experience for six days to: cr a c k . • le a r n techniques for designing, building and setting up a success- ful aquaculture system Coping with Changing Markets When the price of tilapia plunged, • gain experience with the tools and techniques for monitoring an Rick Sheriff switched his operation to aq u a c u l t u r e system including lab-based activities for students the more profitable yellow perch. A • develop a network of raise and release programs that incorporate staple of weekend fish fries in the a variety of Chesapeake Bay species Gr eat Lakes, perch promised good • le a r n techniques for monitoring and restoring local wetlands by money, especially since wild harvests field study of the South Carroll High School Wetland Restoration in that region had fallen from 40 mil- Pr oject lion to 10 million pounds a year. “The demand was there,” Sheriff says. “W e • le a r n grant writing techniques just couldn’t satisfy it.” As part of the program, teachers and students have released fish — That demand for cultured fish can striped bass, for example, in Maryland’s Sandy Point State Park — in exceed supply is good news for any- cooperation with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, using one considering the aquaculture busi- stripers provided by the UMCES Horn Point Laboratory. They have also ness, but the ways of the market are le a r ned how to maintain aquaculture tanks in their own schools, and complex. As one might expect, other how to write grant proposals for additional support for their science gr owers also wanted to sell to that work. For more information, check the web at www.mdsg.umd.edu/ lucrative market. With increa s i n g Education/AinA/. Or contact Adam Frederick at [email protected]. demand on limited supplies of finger-

4 • MARYLAND MARINE NOTES especially when systems are prop e r l y For More Information maintained. To Butz, farming fish in rec i r culating tanks seems like a good way to respond to the vagaries of the marketplace, and he expects that others may well follow suit.

The Path Toward Profit Gr owing fish well, say Web s t e r and Lazur, means growing them prof - itably — the bottom line is what For more information about aqua- University of Maryland College Park counts. To increase their potential for cu l t u r e visit the following web Aquatic Pathobiology, www. pr ofitability, they say, growers need si t e s : aq u a t i c p a t h . u m d . e d u / better management, a variety of Center of Marine Biotechnology, Vir ginia Polytechnical Institute, species and alternative markets. University of Maryland Biotechnol- ww w . re s e a rc h . v t . e d u / re s m a g / In addition to low-margin species ogy Institute, www.umbi.umd.edu/ res m a g 2 0 0 1 / a q u a c u l t u re . h t m l such as tilapia, hybrid striped bass, ~c o m b / p ro g r a m s / a q u a c u l t u re / yellow perch and bluegills, says aq u a c u l . h t m l So u t h e r n Regional Aquaculture enter La z u r , we have to look at higher Publications on Recirculating Tec h - value species such as sturgeon, sea Ho r n Point Laboratory Fish Hatch- nology, www.msstate.edu/dept/srac/ bass and sea bream. And beyond ery, University of Maryland Center fs l i s t . h t m # 4 0 - 4 5 9 that, he notes, the industry should for Environmental Science, not lock itself into food species. He Minnesota Department of Agriculture ww w . h p l . u m c e s . e d u points to attractive possibilities for and University of Minnesota, Evalua- raising ornamentals for the aquarium Maryland Sea Grant Extension Pro- tion of Re c i r culating Systems, www. trade. What we need now, he says, is gram, www.mdsg.umd.edu/ md a . s t a t e . m n . u s / D O C S / M K T G / good market information that we can Ex t e n s i o n / a q u a _ f i s h . h t m l Aq u a c u l t / R e c i rc . h t m then link to economics. Even beyond food production and lings from hatchery producers, the tle nutrition is,” he says. “There is or namentals, there are important price for juveniles went up — some comparatively little development in opportunities for aquaculturists, Lazur five times more, Sheriff says, than fish nutrition compared with agricul- says — for instance, providing envi- what he originally paid. The prof i t tu re . ” ronmental benefits by using the natu- ma r gin grew smaller, and with tilapia Despite the shortcomings, Butz ral filtering of shellfish, and perha p s prices on the rebound, he’s since sees fish farming itself as a form of integrating that with plants to treat a backed off yellow perch and has now diversification, which is why, earlier range of effluents. Creative use of ret u r ned to farming tilapia. this year, he bought thirteen tank sys- aq u a c u l t u r e, he says, could lead to Clearly, flexibility and diversifica- tems built by Sheriff’s company. In innovative ways to reduce nutrient tion of crops is as important for aqua- raising fish he sees a means of diver- loading into surface waters while pro- cu l t u r e as it is for agriculture. sifying his agricultural investments, ducing a cash crop. For some fish farmers closed, rec i rc u - and in rec i r culating systems he To chart the next moves for the lating systems will help remove some believes there is a chance to gain aq u a c u l t u r e industry, res e a rc h e r s of the risk of otherwise uncontrol l e d mo r e control over production. Unlike need to develop both improv e d variables, and give them the control raising fish in ponds or in netpens, means for raising a variety of species they need to switch species when he says, an aquaculturist using rec i r - in captivity but also incisive market necessary. culating systems can better manage analyses for those species, whether What they do not yet have is an en v i r onmental conditions. He points food fish, ornamentals, baitfish or for established industry, with easy access out that he can raise non-indigenous restoration work. This is the informa - to supplies and materials — the farm- species without worrying about their tion the industry needs up front, says ing infrastructure that has, over many escape, and he doesn’t have to worry La z u r , to know what directions make years, grown up around land-based about predators. He also feels that he the most economic sense. ag r i c u l t u re . can better manage water quality and As the still-developing aquaculture According to Robert Butz, it’s not disease. industry moves into the future, Lazur that rec i r culating systems such as his Anytime you raise animals, says cautions that everyone involved will can’t produce large numbers of fish. Butz, there is an environmental cost, need to keep their eye on true eco- What causes him headaches is the but with closed system aquaculture nomic potential. “We’ r e taking a com- lack of support services that can that cost is very low. Though some pr ehensive approach to address prof - make farming fish profitable. “Look at water is discharged, he says, the itability,” Lazur says. “We’ r e in this for how developed hog, poultry and cat- amounts remain relatively small, the long haul.”

VOLUME 19, NUMBER 6 • 5 Summer Estuarine Fellowships Available Maryland Sea Grant is currently seeking applications for its summer 2002 Research Experiences for Under- graduate (REU) fellowship program. Up to fourteen un d e r graduates will be selected to work with university scientists on major marine res e a r ch programs that focus on the Chesapeake Bay. As members of res e a r ch, modelling and data analy- sis labs, students in the REU program work on individual res e a r ch projects in areas that include estuarine pro- cesses, biogeochemistry, contaminants, chemical con- taminant cycling, fisheries, physical oceanography, the benthic environment and submerged aquatic vegetation. Each student will work with a principal investigator at the University of Maryland Center for Environ m e n t a l Science’s Chesapeake Biological Laboratory — at Solomons, Maryland, or its Horn Point Laboratory, at Cambridge, Maryland — or at the Academy of Natural Science Estuarine Research Center in St. Leonard, Maryland. The 12-week program runs from May 28-August 20 and includes dormitory costs, round-trip travel expenses and a stipend of $3,600. Applicants must have completed at least two years of study toward a bachelor’s degree and still be undergraduates in the fall of 2002. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. or its possessions. For application details, visit the web at www.mdsg.umd.edu/Education/REU or call (301) 405-6371. Applica- tions are due March 8, 2002.

Marine Fisheries Service’s NE Fisheries Science Center, SE Fisheries Science Center, and Chesapeake Bay Offi c e Chesapeake Bay Blue (D e re k . O r [email protected], (410) 267-5676). Crab Advisory Report Congress Funds Bay The Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee’s 2001 Blue Crab Advisory Report is now available on the web and Education as a printed leaflet. Released early each As part of the Fiscal Year 2002 budget Congres s su m m e r , the report summarizes the sta- ap p r oved $1.2 million in funding for a Chesapeake Bay tus of the blue crab res o u r ce and pro- education program administered through the National vides scientific advice for res o u r ce man- Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay agement decisions. The report uses data Of fice, making it the first federal agency with a forma l l y fr om five fishery-independent surveys to determine the funded Chesapeake Bay education program. Funding will status of the stock. The five surveys include the Virg i n i a be available for environmental education efforts in states in trawl survey, Maryland summer trawl survey, Calvert Cliffs the Bay watershed (MD, VA, PA, NY, DE, WV) and the Dis- crab pot survey, Baywide winter dredge survey, and Bay- trict of Columbia. wide zooplankton monitoring survey. Funding was supported by Senator Paul Sarbanes A review of data collected in 2001 indicates that: (1) (D-Md.) and other members of the Congressional delega- th e r e is a declining trend in recruitment in recent years; tion in the Bay watershed, and passed as part of NOAA’s (2) age 1+ blue crab stock size is approaching a low not annual budget. Of the total appropriation, $400,000 is seen since the late-1960s; (3) adult female abundance is intended to support the efforts of nonprofit environ m e n t a l cu r r ently below the previous historical low set in 1968; education programs, with the remaining $800,000 used to and, (4) fishing mortality rate is well above the target, and support and coordinate additional environmental education may be increasing. The report may be viewed on the web activities within the Bay watershed. A solicitation for edu- at noaa.chesapeakebay.net/rep o r t s / B C A R p a g e 2 0 0 1 . h t m . cation proposals is anticipated to be published in the early The CBSAC Technical Committee is comprised of scien- spring. For more information, contact Seaberry Nachbar, tists from Maryland, Vir ginia, and the NOAA National NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, (410) 267-5660.

6 • MARYLAND MARINE NOTES Bi-State Crab Effort End Notes Continues nor Harry Hughes in Opportunities establishing the Chesapeake Bay Tru s t , At a meeting in Richmond, Virg i n i a ■ on December 11, 2001 members of Chesapeake Bay Small Wat e r - the award is a bron z e the Chesapeake Bay Commission’s shed Grants Ava i l a b l e . A Request statue of the Chesapeake Bi-State Blue Crab Advisory Commit- for Proposals for the Small Wat e r s h e d Bay Trust’s symbol, the tee (BBCAC) assembled to addres s Grants Program has been issued to blue heron. the future, both immediate and long or ganizations working on a local level To nominate a volunteer individ- te r m, of the Chesapeake’s valuable to protect and improve watersheds in ual or group that has helped res t o r e blue crab fishery. The meeting was the Chesapeake Bay basin, while and protect the Chesapeake Bay designed specifically for stakeholder building citizen-based res o u r ce stew- and/or its tributaries, send a one to input. Seafood processors like Jack ardship. two-page letter detailing their effo r t s . Br ooks, of Clayton’s Seafood, warne d Under last year’s program, 59 pro- Schools, churches, community grou p s that additional restrictions will further jects from across the Bay watershed and nonprofit organizations and indi- weaken a processing industry alrea d y received grants ranging in size from viduals associated with them are eligi- dealing with imported crabmeat, labor $1,700 to $50,000 (average grant size ble nominees. The deadline for challenges and changing markets. is $25,000) out of 140 applications receipt of nominations is 5:00 pm Wat e r men from around the Bay, received. Under the 2002 Chesapeake February 4, 2002. fr om southern Vir ginia to northern Bay Small Watershed Grants Prog r a m , For more information about the Maryland, also shared their observa- grants of up to $50,000 will again be award or Bay Trust grants, call 410- tions on the 2001 crabbing season. awarded on a competitive basis. 974-2941 or visit chesapeakebaytrust. Most agreed that while the season In addition, the 2002 grants pro- or g. had started slow, the fall harvest took gram is being expanded with the cre- a decided turn for the better, fueling ation of the Community Legacy optimism for the future. Grants program in which five grants Publications Re s e a r cher Rom Lipcius, Virg i n i a of up to $100,000 will be awarded to ■ Institute of Marine Science, rep o r t e d truly innovative projects which either The Wat e r man’s Song: Sl a v e r y that his trawl data, which has shown res t o r e vital fish and wildlife habitats, and Freedom in Maritime North a dismal decline in spawning stock develop locally-supported watershed Ca r olina, by David S. Cecelski. Th i s during the past several years, at last management plans, or promote envi- new book from the University of posted an increase this season. While ronmentally-sensitive development. North Carolina Press chronicles the welcome news, Lipcius pointed out The Program is administered by world of slave and free black fisher- that the level still remains quite low, the National Fish and Wildlife Foun- men, pilots, rivermen, sailors, ferry- and far below average. Still, some dation, in cooperation with the U.S. men and other laborers who, from movement upward has sparked hope En v i r onmental Protection Agency, the colonial era through Reconstruc- in res e a r chers and watermen alike Chesapeake Bay Program. Additional tion, plied the inland waters of North that the declining trend may be near- funding for the program is prov i d e d Ca r olina from the Outer Banks to the ing its end, and that restrictions on by NOAA Fisheries, USDA-Forest Ser- upper reaches of tidewater rivers. harvest pres s u r e may have begun to vice, and other sponsors. Grants must Demonstrating the vitality and sig- bear res u l t s . be postmarked no later than February nificance of this local African Ameri- Maryland Delegate John F. Woo d , 1, 2002. For more information, visit can maritime culture, Cecelski also who co-chairs the bi-state committee the web at www.nfwf.org/ p ro g r a m s / shows the essential role it played in with Robert S. Bloxom of Virg i n i a , Ch s p k e _ rf p 2 0 0 2 . h t m local abolitionist activity, slave insur- rections and other antislavery exhorted those present to continue to ■ work together, and to find ways to Bay Trust Seeks Nominees for activism, as well as boatlifting thou- stick to the goal set out by the com- Ellen Fraites Wagner Awa rd . Th e sands of slaves to freedom during the mittee’s action plan, of doubling the Chesapeake Bay Trust encourages the Civil War . Most important according blue crab’s nomination of deserving individual or to Cecelski, a professor at Duke sp a w n i n g gr oup volunteers for the 2002 Ellen University, is the insurgent, demo- stock. “We Fraites Wagner Award. Nominees cratic vision black watermen devel- have a good should exemplify the CBT mission of oped in the relatively egalitarian work plan,” he “p r omoting public awareness and cu l t u r e of the seafaring world, then said. “Let’s participation in the restoration and carried into the political maelstrom of stick to it.” pr otection of the Chesapeake Bay the Civil War and Reconstruction. For and its tributaries.” mo r e information, visit the University Named for Wag n e r , who worked of North Carolina Press at www. closely with former Maryland gover- un c p r ess.unc.edu.

VOLUME 19, NUMBER 6 • 7 MSG Request Comprehensive Maryland Marine Notes Volume 19, Number 6 for Proposals Oyster Plan November-December 2001

In mid-January A new effort is under- Maryland Marine Notes is published Maryland Sea Grant way by Chesapeake six times a year by the Maryland Sea College will issue a Bay Program partners Grant College for and about the marine Request for Prop o s - to develop a compre- res e a r ch, education and outreach community around the state. als (RFP) for its next hensive plan for man- This newsletter is produced and pr oposal cycle aging the Chesapeake Bay’s oyster funded by the Maryland Sea Grant which runs from res o u r ces. With the adoption of the College Program, which receives support February 1, 2003- Chesapeake Bay 2000 Agreement, a fr om the National Oceanic and January 31, 2005. renewed and better-coordinated effo r t Atmospheric Administration. Managing The RFP solicits proposals with dura- is underway to address the commit- Ed i t o r , Sandy Rodgers; Contributing tions of one to two years. Those ment of “achieving at a minimum, a Editors, Jack Greer and Merrill Leffl e r . Send items for the newsletter to: in t e r est in submitting prop o s a l s tenfold increase in native oysters by Maryland Marine Notes should read the RFP carefully and 2010.” Towards this end, the Bay Pro- Maryland Sea Grant College di r ect any questions to the prog r a m gram is drafting a Compreh e n s i v e 0112 Skinner Hall early in the proposal process. Sea Oyster Plan (COP) with the ultimate University of Maryland Grant support is offe r ed on an open, goal of maintaining the valuable eco- College Park, Maryland 20742 competitive basis and is available to logical role of native oyster popula- (301) 405-6376, fax (301) 314-9581 res e a r chers at all academic institutions tions, while continuing to support an e-mail: [email protected] For more information about Maryland Sea and res e a r ch laboratories in Maryland. oyster fishery. The Bay program is Grant, visit our web site: To read the online RFP and down- inviting public comment on COP con- www.mdsg.umd.edu/MDSG load forms, visit the web at cepts during January 2002; the draft is ww w . m d s g . u m d . e d u / R e s e a r ch /RFP. available on the web at www. If you don’t have web access, or chesapeakebay.net/cop.htm. The you’d prefer a paper copy, contact tentative timeline for completion of Rosalie Lynn at (301) 405-6371. the plan is March 2002.

Maryland Marine Notes (c u r r ent and back issues since 1995) is also available on the web at www.mdsg.umd.edu/MarineNotes

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