Frozen Chesapeake Bay leaves Maryland watermen struggling during peak oyster season

Many Maryland watermen have been stuck on land for weeks because parts of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries remain frozen over, leaving some oystermen out of work during peak season.

Life-long waterman John Clopine said conditions have not been this bad in decades.

"Us watermen can't get out and go to work and we've got bills to pay," Clopine said.

"You can't pay bills"

Parts of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed are still iced over, keeping watermen like Clopine on land during commercial oyster season, which runs from October through the end of March.

"The ice would sink the boat basically," Clopine said.

Clopine and fellow Eastern Shore waterman Tyrone Meredith said they have not been able to work in weeks, missing out on critical income.

"You can't make money; you can't pay bills. We're not getting any oysters to the market," Meredith said.

A call for emergency relief

Last week, Maryland congressman Andy Harris asked the federal government to step in.

Rep. Harris sent a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration requesting an economic fishery disaster declaration, which could open the door to emergency relief for Maryland oystermen under federal law.

Harris said severe weather, reduced market access and competition left many crews able to fish only one or two days all season.

NOAA has not yet announced whether it will approve that disaster request.  

Request to extend the oyster season

Watermen said one thing that could help immediately is extending the season.

"The season ends at the end of March so hopefully we can get two more weeks in April. That would help us out," Meredith said.

"For us watermen to make up what we lost," Clopine said. "Because we've got bills to pay and we can't go out and work."