Shore delegation to draft disaster-relief request for oyster industry after market collapse and Potomac spill

Members of the Eastern Shore delegation on Friday agreed to draft a disaster-relief request to Governor Moore for commercial oyster harvesters after multiple delegates described an unusually poor season, closed markets, and environmental contamination that disrupted sales.

Senator Mautz said the oyster season has "been a disaster" with no market in recent weeks and that many watermen were averaging one day of work a week. Jay Jacobs, chair of the Waterman's Caucus, told the delegation it was "the worst I've ever seen in my lifetime," citing market closures during Thanksgiving and Christmas and ongoing impacts to processors and shucking houses.

Delegates also raised a recent major spill in the Potomac River that contributed to public safety concerns and market loss; one speaker referenced "over 200,000,000 gallons of raw sewage in the Potomac," and members said contamination scares further depressed demand. Freezing conditions on the bay were expected to add immediate evidence of lost harvest days, they said.

The chair asked staff to work with caucus leadership to draft a letter and circulate it to members for approval. "Why don't we send that out to the members like we do during the interim?" the chair asked; Senator Mautz said he had already sent a draft to the chair's public email. The delegation agreed to expedite review so the letter could be sent to the governor and federal partners.

No formal financial commitment or emergency appropriation was made at the meeting; delegates asked staff to circulate the draft and requested prompt responses to finalize and send the request.