In an effort to decrease the number of “dead zones” in the Chesapeake Bay, some Maryland legislators support the call for more oyster sanctuaries issued by Gov. Martin O’Malley and the state’s Department of Natural Resources.

But this has been met with fierce opposition from watermen, who contend the sanctuaries could put many of them out of business.

Proponents believe sanctuaries can help revive the bay’s oyster population and clean the bay–and that a healthy Chesapeake should take priority over the livelihood of watermen.

“Hunter-gatherers in society are being squeezed out all over the world,” Sen. Brian Frosh (D-Montgomery) testified at the House Environmental Matters Committee during the legislative session that concluded this week. “This is not one of the industries of the future.”

But many watermen believe pollution is the main cause of lowered oyster counts in the bay, not watermen and their fishing. Watermen lobbied in the Maryland General Assembly this year to delay or defeat the plan to create additional oyster sanctuaries.

To help revive the bivalves, Gov. O’Malley has been promoting a plan to expand the number of oyster reefs in the bay deemed “no harvesting” zones. Opponents pushed a proposal to delay creation of these sanctuaries for a year or more, but their measure died when legislators adjourned this week, according to the Bay Daily blog.

Other plans are afoot to boost the oyster population through aquaculture. On April 3, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources submitted a proposal for federal stimulus funds in the amount of $10 million to fund oyster-related projects. In that proposal, DNR recommended the infusion of ariakensis (Asian oysters) into the bay.

But on April 6, that proposal was criticized as ecologically risky by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which recommended a native-only oyster restoration plan instead. The native-only plan drew praise from the governors of Maryland and Virginia.

While reducting algae blooms in the bay has long been a priority for bay preservationists,  environmental agencies also have been trying to figure out a plan to replenish oysters, which act as a natural filter to clean the water. The decline in the Chesapeake’s oysters has been steep, with 80 percent of oyster bars disappearing from Maryland’s waters over the past 25 years, according to U.S. Rep. Frank Kratovil.