Year round at sunrise, fishing boats cruise the waters of the Patuxent River in search of reefs to raise oysters from their beds. The work is known as patent tonging: hydraulic tongs are lowered from the boat and in a single fluid motion extract a clump of oysters, then raise them to a metal table on deck to be measured.
On the table, equipped with three inch grooves, crews sort the oysters by size. As the "good thee inch oysters" are tossed into a basket the smaller bivalves, that do not make the measurement cut, and empty shells are thrown overboard. The patent tongs are operated by foot pedals: one to open and close the tongs; the other to push and raise them up and down.
As young oysters attach themselves to adults to grow they form thick dense reefs that serve as habitats for crabs, fish and other ground dwelling critters. When the empty shells are returned to the Bay, they offer regenerative mechanisms for oyster propagation.
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“In an effort to restore The Bay’s natural oyster populations, shell recycling programs have popped up across the region and lawmakers have established sanctuaries and are strengthening harvesting restrictions.” *Bay programs are partnering with heritage tourism to promote estuarine life and the waterman's in Maryland’s economy.
*Chesapeake Bay Program
