J. MILLARD TAWES, Governor                     1625

No. 19
(Senate Joint Resolution 32)

Senate Joint Resolution calling on the Governor of Maryland to ap-
point a special commission to make a comprehensive study of the
problems and prospects of the Maryland oyster industry, including
an examination of the legal and institutional arrangements govern-
ing the oyster fishery and their economic effects, and to submit
recommendations for measures to insure the survival of the
industry and promote its healthy growth.

The harvesting of oysters, the most valuable product of Maryland's
seafood industry, has declined drastically over the years. In 1962-63
the oyster catch from Maryland waters sank to an all-time low of
1.2 million bushels, only one-fifth of the 5.7 million bushels recorded
at the turn of the century in 1900-01. Nevertheless, the value of
oyster production continues to bulk large in the State's total output
of seafood products. In calendar year 1963, 7.8 million pounds of
oyster meat were produced with a dockside value of $5.6 million
(before processing), which was 52 percent of the value of all Mary-
land seafood products in that year.

As a result of the declining trend in production, Maryland oysters,
which are prized throughout the country for their size and quality,
have lost a great part of their former markets. These markets are
now being largely supplied by oysters produced in other areas,
which, in many cases, are harvested more efficiently and sold at more
competitive prices. The decline in oyster yields has adversely affected
some 12,000 watermen, packing plant workers and others who are
wholly or partly dependent on the oyster industry for their livelihood.

The reduction in the Maryland oyster catch is not attributable
to natural causes since the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries con-
tinue to offer highly favorable conditions for the growing of oysters.
These oyster fishing grounds have been largely free of the oyster
disease and water pollution problems that have affected production
in certain other areas. The high potential of Maryland's waters for
oyster production is the basis for the major expansion in the State's
oyster propagation program undertaken in recent years.

Present efforts to expand the seeding of oysters cannot, however,
be expected to result in significantly increased yields unless sound
conservation and management practices are observed in harvesting.
Existing laws and regulations governing the oyster fishery are
complex and lacking in uniformity, which makes for difficulties in
their administration and enforcement. Moreover, the harvesting
methods which they sanction do not always conform to sound con-
servation principles, and the restrictions they impose on the economic
organization of oystering hamper efficient operations. Remedial
measures to correct these and other deficiencies, such as the lack of
an effective program to expand the market for Maryland oysters,
are urgently needed if the industry's potential is to be realized; now,
therefore, be it

Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the General
Assembly call on the Governor of Maryland to appoint a special com-
mission to make a comprehensive study of the problems and prospects