| The historical landings of Eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica are described for the Maryland part of the Chesapeake Bay. The different trends are analyzed concurrently with the main events and management strategies which occurred. Three main periods are identified : (1) the great fishery when annual oyster landings from 1840 to 1890 reached 600,000 metric tons. This period was characterized by gross overfishing and the destruction of oyster habitat by the oyster gears; (2) the reduced but stable landings from 1900 to 1980, with failure of the reseeding plan connected to heavy sedimentation and anoxie summer conditions. Landings did not exceed 80,000 metric tons; (3) the large decrease of production (1981-1988), with landings as low as 15,000 metric tons... |
