The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is slashing its grant to the Horn Point laboratory that oversees the spawning and rearing of oysters. In our weekly series with the Bay Journal Delmarva Public Media's Don Rush talks with associate editor and senior writer Tim Wheeler about the impact of the potential cuts.
RUSH: Maryland's oyster restoration efforts could be substantially diminished with a nearly 50% cut in federal funds for the state's hatchery here on the Eastern Shore. This is Don Rush. Reductions come at the end of a long campaign to restore the creatures in 10 Chesapeake Bay tributaries in Maryland and Virginia. In our weekly series with the Bay Journal, we talk with associate editor and senior writer Tim Wheeler about the impact of the potential cuts.
WHEELER: The oyster hatchery operated by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science at Horn Point, at its Horn Point Lab outside of Cambridge, has been producing oysters for seeding restored reefs in the bay for years. And their work has been heavily subsidized with a federal grant that comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fishery division last year, meaning in 2025, they got word that their expected final installment was being reduced by nearly 50%. The grant award amount was $740,000 and they trimmed about $340,000 out of it. That would take effect in April, is my understanding. And it's a big blow to the operation.
RUSH: The importance of Horn Point to oyster restoration. How significant is that?
WHEELER: The hatchery has produced, at their lowest point, about 400 million spat (larvae of oyster) on oyster shells for restoration up to 1.8 billion in their peak production. University Hatchery has been the heavy lifter in all of this, so their loss of this money could be a significant impact on future restoration efforts. Oyster restoration, as you may recall, was one of the bright spots in the Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts over the last decade, and they agreed to continue the effort over the next 15 years or for the next decade at least, and this could slow down Maryland's portion of that effort.
RUSH: So I understand that Congressman Andy Harris actually supports the reduction. What's his rationale for doing so?
WHEELER: Congressman Harris is co-chair of the Bay Watershed Caucus in Congress, along with Republicans and Democrats from the Bay States; Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania. However, he said he agreed with the reduction because the hatchery primarily produces oysters spat-on-shell for restoration purposes for placing in sanctuaries, which are not open to commercial harvest. And he believes that there should be more attention paid to helping rebuild the oyster industry itself and oysters planted on reefs that could be harvested commercially. He's the only person among the watershed caucus who sort of takes that view. Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth, who is another co-chair of the caucus, supports the hatchery. It's in Congressman Harris's district, Horn Point is, he represents the Eastern Shore, but Congress as a body actually approved an increase in oyster restoration funds for the Bay as part of their appropriations package that they passed earlier this month and was actually signed into law. But it's anybody's guess at this point whether that increase in funding specifically for oyster restoration in the Bay will trickle back down to the Horn Point hatchery. The NOAA spokespeople that I reached out to did not respond when I asked if they would be restoring the grant.
RUSH: Tim Wheeler, associate editor, senior writer for the Bay Journal on the potential federal funding cuts for oyster restoration in the Chesapeake Bay. This is Don Rush for Delmarva Public Media.
