In 1607 oysters were so numerous in the Chesapeake Bay, that it took three to five days for them to filter all of its water. Today it takes the population of oysters over a year to complete the task. Each oyster filters about 50 gallons of water a day.
Oysters can live in waters with salinity levels between five and thirty-five parts per thousand. The Patuxent River is a perfect location for oysters with average salinity levels from ten to eighteen parts per thousand.
Oysters may live up to twenty years. They become legal for harvest when they reach three inches in length or are about three years of age.
Enemies of oysters include oyster drills, cow-nosed rays, crabs, "MSX", "Dermo", silt run-off, nutrient pollution, and of course man's desire for the delicacy.
No two oysters are the same and the type of benthic location can help determine its shape. If an oyster is partly covered by silt on a soft bottom it becomes elongated in shape. Harder surface bottoms tend to make the shape more rounded.
Shuckers sort oysters by size. The largest are called “counts,” medium-sized oysters are called “selects,” and the smallest are called “standards.”
Until the mid-1980s, oysters were the most valuable commercial fishery in the Chesapeake Bay
J.C. Lore & Sons oyster house is built on fill made of discarded oyster shells from the oyster shucking houses of Lore and Woodburn.
J.C. Lore & Sons oyster house was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior in 2001.
J.C. LORE & SONS OYSTER HOUSE DESIGNATED A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK
Read the press release
Read the National Historic Landmark Nomination
Read about it in the Bugeye Times
Oyster Shuckers