Maryland Shellfish Aquaculture Industry: 2023 at a Glance (FS-2024-0732)

The 2023 Maryland oyster aquaculture harvest was the largest since the modern leasing program took effect. The 2023 harvest registered 94,286 bushels of oysters(Crassostrea virginica), with 62,783 bushels harvested from submerged land leases and 31,502 bushels from watercolumn lease types (Figure 1). Submerged land lease oysters are grown on and harvested directly from suitably prepared bottom, while those grown on water-column leases are single animals placed in containerized gear (e.g., baskets, cages, bags, etc.), most commonly in cages that rest on the bottom or are suspended beneath surface floats. The 2023 farm-raised oyster harvest saw a slight increase of 29 bushels compared to 2022. The portion of the 2023 harvest reported from submerged land leases was the second largest since the modern program took effect, while the 2023 water-column harvest increased 15.3% from 2022 reports (Figure 1). The bulk of harvest from submerged land leases typically occurs from April 1 to September 30 when leaseholders can take advantage of higher prices and avoid competition with the wild oyster fishery harvest during public harvest months, while the watercolumn harvest is relatively consistent throughout the year (Figures 2 & 3). It should be noted the 5-year average lines in Figures 2 & 3 were influenced by market closures in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic when farms were unable to sell product, and therefore reduced harvests.

The increased harvest from leases in 2023 contributed to a record dockside value for farmed oysters since the modern leasing program took effect. In 2023, the estimated dockside value of aquaculture oysters in Maryland was $7,381,482. This is an increase of over $84,000 compared to the 2022 estimated dockside value (Figure 4), driven in part by increased harvest of single oysters, but also by higher average per bushel and per piece retail and wholesale prices (Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 2024).

Aquaculture operations in Maryland sell oysters by the bushel or individually as single oysters (singles) to a variety of markets which may range from wholesalers to direct-to-consumer sales, each with different prices that can fluctuate by product and/or by season. The average price for Maryland oysters sold by the bushel remained steady at $55 per bushel from 2017-2021, and then increased to approximately $62 in 2022. The average price per Maryland oyster sold as singles was $0.40 per oyster in 2017 and 2018, then increased to $0.50 per oyster in 2019 where it remained through 2021.

The average price of singles in 2022 and 2023 was approximately $0.47 per oyster, while the average price of bushels in 2023 was $63.85 per bushel. Annual price averages were also adjusted for inflation using the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator and are shown in 2023 dollars. Note that average dockside prices are calculated via self-reported wholesale and retail real price averages, standardized by sales volume, from annual surveys returned to the MDNR (Table 1).

As with previous years, the total value of oysters sold to bushel markets in Maryland in 2023 was higher than the total value sold as singles. Annual values were also adjusted for inflation using the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator and are shown in 2023 dollars (Figure 4). The authors of this publication used the economic ratios published in van Senten (2020) to estimate the total economic impact of the oyster aquaculture industry on Maryland to be approximately $13.3 million in 2023.

Unique grower financing programs continue to play an important role in supporting the growth of the shellfish aquaculture industry in Maryland. Since its inception in 2010, the Maryland Agricultural Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO) has approved loans totaling over $6 million through the Maryland Shellfish Aquaculture Financing Fund (MSAFF) and the Maryland Shellfish Remote Setting Loan Fund (MSRSLF). MARBIDCO’s shellfish loan program features interest-only payment periods and principal forgiveness if certain conditions are met. In 2023, MARBIDCO approved two loan applications totaling $160,000 for the MSAFF and one application totaling $30,000 for the MSRSLF (MARBIDCO, 2024).

At the end of 2023, there were 478 shellfish leases comprising 7,579 acres of Maryland waterways. Submerged land leases accounted for 7,010.8 acres on 375 sites, while 103 water-column leases covered 568.2 acres (Figures 5 & 6) (Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 2023). The relatively minor fluctuations overall as compared to the end of 2022, which ended with 477 shellfish leases on 7,658 acres (Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 2023), are a result of a similar number of leases being either surrendered or terminated during 2023 as there were new leases issued. During the calendar year 2023, the MDNR received 16 new commercial shellfish lease applications and issued 14 new leases. At the end of 2023, 97 lease applications were in process by MDNR (Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 2023). In many instances, an individual or business entity may hold more than one lease while operating as a single entity. In other cases, leases may be held in the names of distinct individuals but operate as a single business or partnership. The MDNR collects data on each lease through mandatory annual reporting to ensure “active use” in accordance with state statute. While MDNR does not formally collect data for the total number of aquaculture businesses, the number of distinct leaseholders has hovered between 165 and 175 since 2017. The number of distinct leaseholders can be used as a proxy to estimate the number of aquaculture businesses in Maryland.

Maryland shellfish leases were located in 11 counties in 2023 (Figure 7) (Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 2023). There is no regulated minimum or maximum shellfish aquaculture lease size in Maryland. Therefore, leases range in size from less than one acre to several hundred acres. In Maryland, water-column leases are generally smaller than submerged land leases; the average water-column lease size was 5.3 acres (range: 0.12 - 48 acres), as compared to the average submerged land lease size of 19.1 acres (range: 0.13 - 310.7 acres) in 2023.

Shellfish nursery operations in Maryland are comprised of both hatchery facilities and in-water or land-based nursery facilities. The latter most typically include some combination of tanks used seasonally for remote setting larvae, and/ or seed husbandry in upwellers, downwellers or floating containers of various styles. Shellfish nursery activities may be authorized under either a shellfish aquaculture lease or a Shellfish Nursery Permit, depending on nursery type, size and location. Leases or facilities established for nursery-only production are limited to cultivating shellfish seed up to a maximum size of one inch as measured from hinge to bill, at which point the product must be relocated to an alternate permitted location. Shellfish nursery permits issued by MDNR are non-transferrable and have a five-year renewable term. In 2023, the Department issued 10 new shellfish nursery permits; a total of 64 nursery facilities were permitted for at least some portion of the year,in addition to 7 leases that were designated for nursery-only production (Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 2024).