SAV-aquaculture interactions

Several living resources in Chesapeake Bay have been undergoing rapid change over the past decade. Although wild oyster populations are still depleted, the number of farm- raised oysters has been increasing due to changes in Maryland regulations that promoted rapid expansion of the oyster aquaculture industry. At the same time, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) has been recovering in response to reductions in nutrient loading. Because both of these resources tend to occupy shallow (<2 m) waters the potential for spatial overlap and subsequent conflict has been increasing.

Maryland regulations generally restrict aquaculture in areas occupied by SAV. These regulations are designed to support SAV restoration under the assumption that aquaculture will impair SAV growth. However, the extent to which aquaculture is detrimental to SAV growth and the mechanisms by which it impacts Chesapeake Bay SAV habitat are not well understood. In this project, we are conducting fieldwork and retrospective data analyses to address this knowledge gap. We are collaborating with Jeremy Testa and Dong Liang from University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Chesapeake Biological Laboratory.

This project is funded by Maryland Sea Grant.