Oyster rescue? Or Oyster subsidy?

Baltimore Sun special report finds Oystermen reap federal bounty: Bid to revive bivalve benefits watermen more

The mood was celebratory at January's annual meeting of the Oyster Recovery Partnership. At the Hyatt Regency resort in Cambridge, several dozen scientists, watermen and government regulators gathered to sip martinis and mingle over hors d'oeuvres. Later, there were cheers and tributes as they dined on crab and filet mignon....

Major findings from the Baltimore Sun's special report:

"Maryland officials set up the group more than a decade ago in what was envisioned as a groundbreaking attempt to revive a species all but destroyed by overharvesting and disease. Since 2002 alone, the partnership has received $10 million in federal funds to lead Maryland's efforts to make oysters an abundant, self-sustaining species again.

"The way to do that, leading scientists say, is to leave the shellfish in the water so they can reproduce and propagate the species. But the partnership puts most of its oysters in places where watermen can take them out - and sell them for roughly $30 a bushel...

"The Sun found:

• While the partnership has planted tens of millions of hatchery-raised oysters, less than a third have been put in protected sanctuaries. Most are planted in places where they can be harvested.

• The group is paying the Maryland Watermen's Association nearly $400,000 this year to remove diseased oysters from one part of the bay and dump them in another. Proponents say this practice helps other oysters survive, but it has no proven scientific value. Critics say a primary benefit is to provide work for watermen.

• The head of the Watermen's Association sits on the partnership's board and is among those who benefit financially from the federal grants. Association president Larry Simns Sr. doled out tens of thousands of dollars of the grant money to watermen last year to help plant or move oysters. Also, he collected $40,100 for supervising their work.

• The group used $46,000 in federal funds to hold its annual meeting at the Hyatt Regency, a golf resort and spa. The money went not just for the fancy dinner but also for hotel rooms for 50 of the guests. Private funds were used only for the alcohol...

"...Though the partnership gets millions in federal funds, it operates with virtually no governmental oversight. The group gets the money as the result of a budget "earmark" arranged by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat, and the grant is distributed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"...'Hey, trust us'
NOAA officials acknowledge that they have done little to manage or oversee the money their agency gets from the earmark and passes on to the Oyster Recovery Partnership. The agency does not scrutinize the partnership's salaries, administrative expenses or the money it spends on its annual banquet, said NOAA grant manager Rich Takacs. "It's up to the organization receiving the funds to use their internally approved business practices," Takacs said.

As a result, there has been no comprehensive assessment of what the $10 million in federal funds granted to the partnership in the past five years has done to help the cause of restoring oysters to the bay, NOAA officials said...

"When the program started, it was primarily, 'Put the oysters in the water for the watermen,'" Bahner said. "You've got this whole watermen's community. It's a subsidy program."

Read the entire "Oystermen reap federal bounty: Bid to revive bivalve benefits watermen more," By Rona Kobell and Greg Garland, Originally published April 1, 2007, in the Baltimore Sun

Permalink