Amid oyster bounty, Chesapeake Bay watermen suffer dismal harvest

Amid oyster bounty, Chesapeake Bay watermen suffer dismal harvest

Chumley Fisher offloads oysters from Chet Schwartz’s boat on March 18, 2026, on Tilghman Island. (Photo by Dave Harp/Chesapeake Bay Journal)Timothy B. Wheeler and Jeremy Cox The Chesapeake Bay Journal It’s the best of times in recent memory for Chesapeake Bay oysters. It’s just the opposite, though, for the Maryland and Virginia watermen who make a living harvesting them. The bay’s oysters have recovered from the MSX and Dermo diseases that deci…