In 2012, Ted Cooney got one million oysters in mesh bags the size of a cantaloupe and started an oyster farming business. The system he planned to use was still somewhat new in Maryland waters: he would pack oysters in cages for most of their growing time. His approach would prove more difficult than he expected.  more . . .

In the late 1970s, oyster farmers along the Nanticoke River learned to work around restrictions against private bottom leases, and the river soon held 25 percent of all oyster leases in Maryland. As new techniques began raising hopes for better harvests, disease outbreaks suddenly shut down farming in the mid-1980s. Thirty years later, oyster farming is rebounding in this river.  more . . .

Officers with Maryland's Natural Resources Police hear many stories about one persistent problem oyster farmers face: poaching. A crime easy to commit, but difficult to prosecute.  more . . .

An ancient fishery feud still simmers in Maryland: should the state support wild harvest on public oyster grounds or encourage farming on private, leased bottom areas?  more . . .

Maryland Sea Grant has a new science writer. Daniel Pendick will cover Bay science and the education and community outreach efforts of the program's Extension specialists.  more . . .