FISHING AND THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY

Maryland is a state amply blessed with water resources.
The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries abound with fish,
providing a playground for sportsmen as well as the basis for a
prosperous seafood industry. Governor Tawes, who grew up
in the Eastern Shore fishing community of Crisfield, had an
intimate knowledge of the problems facing the watermen of
Maryland's Tidewater section. He was convinced that the con-
tinued well-being of the State's fishing industry was dependent
upon industry-government cooperation.

A major project during the Governor's first term was an
attempt to check the long-term decline in the State's oyster
production. The most far-reaching effort ever undertaken to
redevelop the oyster resources of the Chesapeake Bay was begun
during the summer of 1960. One of the first steps taken by the
Tawes' Administration was the reorganization of the Depart-
ment of Tidewater Fisheries in 1959, placing the Department
under the direction of a five-member commission. In addition,
the Department's primary role was altered from that of law
enforcement to one of responsibility for the rehabilitation of
the State's commercial fishing industry.

ADDRESS, TIDEWATER FISHERIES SCHOOL
WASHINGTON COLLEGE, CHESTERTOWN

August 24, 1959

The reorganized Department of Tidewater Fisheries has been oper-
ating now for less than three months, and it is therefore not possible to
make a proper appraisal of its performance. A final judgment on the
worth of this all-important reorganized State agency must await the
passing of years. But the amount and quality of the work already done
by the new Commission which I appointed the first of June, in my
belief, justifies the confidence I have that this division of our State
government will be one of the highlights of my Administration and that
it will go down in history as the organization which brought new life
and new strength to our declining seafood industry.

The energy and resourcefulness of this new Commission—the speed
with which it went about its task—caused many skeptical Marylanders
to gasp with amazement. Its very first meeting was packed with action,

265