Publications

Submitted to: NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office
Grant Titled: Supply and Management of Oyster Harvests in the Chesapeake Bay

By Robert Wieland
Main Street Economics
August 16, 2006

This study develops estimates for the average costs of harvesters in the public oyster fishery in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay. It examines cost differences across the various gear types with respect to daily harvest effort. Such estimates could be useful in understanding fishing behavior and helping to anticipate changes in effort, given changes in prices or oyster abundances.

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank the watermen who took the time to answer survey questions and to supply other basic information for this report. They remain anonymous, but without their cooperation, there could not have been a report. Thanks also to Dr. George Krantz for general background and to Barney Kastel of Kastel Marine and Rodney Fluharty, for their help with engine and drive train costs. Thanks also to DNR Staff Connie Lewis, Eric Campbell and Mick Astarb for their regular assistance with data. While these folks have all provided answers to my questions and even provided insights that I hadn’t ask for, I have worked their input into a description of operating costs, the accuracy of which I alone should be held responsible.

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