Mid-Atlantic Seafood Watch downgrades Chesapeake oysters

By Chris Chase / SeafoodSource

Anew Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program draft assessment downgrades the Eastern oysters harvested in Chesapeake Bay to the category of “avoid,” drawing criticism from scientists, o cials, conservationists, and shers.

e draft report rated wild-caught oysters in the U.S. states of Maryland and Virginia, harvested both with hand implements and towed dredges as seafood to avoid, citing a “high concern” for the status of the stock and of the management of the shery.

Seafood Watch’s draft assessment said the shery experienced “a notable decline in abundance” and that the reference points for stock assessments in Maryland were based on periods of “historically low abundance.” e report also criticizes the status of Virginia’s stock, based on “strong signs of being over shed.”

“ e reference points used in the stock assessment are not appropriate for the stock,” the draft report states.