Week of April 13, 2009
Opinion: After five years, government rules out Asian oyster gamble From HomeTownAnnapolis.com It's now official, or at least as official as it's likely to get. There won't be any shortcut on the winding road that may lead to some restoration of the Chesapeake Bay's embattled oyster population. Federal, Maryland and Virginia officials announced Monday that their plans for restoring the oysters do not include introducing the so-called Asian oysters ( Crassostrea ariakensis ) to bay waters. The Asian oysters grow faster, are hardier, and are supposedly resistant to diseases - MSX and Dermo - that devastated the native oysters ( Crassostrea virginica ), whose population is now languishing at perhaps 1 percent of historic highs. Watermen and seafood processors were excited by the idea of importing ariakensis, and the enthusiasm spread to the administration of Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. Of course, with federal and state money involved, the idea had to be studied. An...