Maryland Residents Strongly Support Oyster Sanctuaries, Despite Proposals to Roll Back Their Protections

New Polling Shows Marylanders Overwhelmingly Want to Protect Oyster Sanctuaries for their Benefits to Clean Water, Habitats, and Local Economies

More than three in four voters support keeping Maryland’s oyster sanctuaries protected, despite state and federal efforts that threaten to open these reefs to harvest, according to polling data released today by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF).

Oyster sanctuaries are areas of the Bay where oyster harvesting is prohibited. The state keeps these areas protected so oysters can help filter the water, provide habitat for fish and crabs, and support recreational and commercial fisheries.

Oyster restoration is one of the Chesapeake Bay’s greatest success stories. Since Maryland expanded its oyster sanctuary network to help oysters recover from disease, habitat loss, and historical overfishing, the state’s oyster population has tripled.

“Maryland voters support oyster sanctuaries because they understand what they can do for the Bay and its communities,” said CBF Maryland Executive Director Allison Colden. “Opening these protected areas for harvest would run counter to the public’s best interest and backtrack on decades of progress.”

The survey of nearly 600 Maryland voters was conducted by a pair of research firms—one Republican and one Democratic—between July 1 and July 9. It found that:

• Overall, 78 percent of voters support maintaining existing oyster sanctuaries. Only 8 percent oppose;
• Support extends across party lines including 82 percent of Independents, 81 percent of Democrats and 68 percent of Republicans, and is 75 percent or higher in every region of the state;
• Support rose to 83 percent after voters learned more about the issue, including arguments in support and opposition to opening sanctuaries for harvest; and
• Four in five voters would view a candidate for state legislature who supports maintaining existing oyster sanctuaries more favorably. One-third would have a “much more favorable” view. Only 5 percent would have a less favorable view of a candidate who supports sanctuaries.

“Maryland voters clearly do not want to see the Chesapeake Bay’s existing oyster sanctuaries opened for harvesting,” said Lori Weigel, a pollster with the Republican research firm New Bridge Strategy.

“Support for oyster sanctuaries and legislative candidates who would vote to maintain them was overwhelming across all parties, ages, and geographies,” said Miranda Everitt, a pollster with the Democratic research firm FM3.

Why Oyster Sanctuaries Are at Risk

Despite public support for oyster sanctuaries, Maryland has seen multiple efforts in recent months at both the state and federal levels to open protected reefs to harvest. Recent political assaults on oyster sanctuaries include:

• A bill in Maryland’s 2026 General Assembly session (HB1388) that attempted to open four sanctuaries to harvest;
• The U.S. House’s FY27 Appropriations Bill attempting to strip National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funding for oyster sanctuaries unless they are opened to harvest; and
• Maryland’s Oyster Advisory Commission (OAC), which advises the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), has been tasked by legislative leaders to consider options for changing sanctuary management, including potentially opening sanctuaries to harvest. Depending on the Commission’s final recommendations, this could open the door for future regulatory or legislative action that could undermine sanctuary protections.

These pressures to open sanctuaries to harvest and restrict funding for restoration are ramping up. CBF is taking multiple steps to keep sanctuaries protected, including as a member of the OAC. Through the OAC, CBF and other partners have presented solutions for increasing sanctuary investment and supporting watermen and the local seafood industry.

Despite more oysters in the Bay, Maryland’s oyster fishery has faced significant economic pressures, including shifting consumer demand, competition from out-of-state fisheries, poaching, and extreme winter weather last season. Protected oyster sanctuaries are a tool that can help oyster populations and businesses rebound in the Bay.

In May, CBF and several environmental partners signed a letter to DNR leadership calling for science-backed decision-making on sanctuary management. CBF and its members have also urged federal legislators to remove the federal funding provisions restricting investments in oyster sanctuaries in the House Commerce, Justice, and Science and Related Agencies’ Appropriations Bill.

These efforts align with current public interest to maintain oyster sanctuaries’ many ecological, habitat, and community benefits.

Benefits to the Public

When asked, poll participants said they want to keep oyster sanctuaries protected because of their benefits to water quality, their ability to provide habitat for other species, and their contributions to the local economy.

Oyster reefs create exceptional habitat—especially for blue crabs, according to a 2021 NOAA report. “Relative to pre-restoration conditions, fully mature, restored oyster reefs in Harris Creek, Tred Avon River, and Little Choptank River could increase commercial blue crab harvest by more than 150 percent,” the report says. Additionally, it says, “the number of small fish and invertebrates increases with the number of live oysters. So healthy restored reefs are a good source of food for larger fish.”

Fortunately, recent oyster harvests in Maryland demonstrate how protected sanctuaries can also contribute to greater harvest outside of protected areas. Sanctuaries allow oysters to grow large and produce more baby oysters, which land not just in sanctuaries but also in nearby harvestable areas. Since Maryland expanded its oyster sanctuary network in 2010, watermen have experienced record harvests not seen since the 1980s.

“Oyster restoration is working,” said Ben Ford, Miles-Wye Riverkeeper at ShoreRivers. “But we’re not done. There’s still only a fraction of oysters in the Bay as there once was. We must continue protecting and investing in oyster sanctuaries if we want a healthy and vibrant Chesapeake Bay.”

In recent years, Maryland has committed to fully restoring three additional tributaries for oyster habitat, and signed the 2025 revised Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, which requires Maryland and Virginia to restore an additional 2,000 acres of oyster habitat by 2040.

Allowing harvest on oyster sanctuaries would undermine these commitments. Multiple studies (most recently, Wade et.al.) show that harvesting oysters, especially via dredging, damages habitat. Harvesting prevents oysters from forming robust habitat structures and developing critical disease resistance. Harvesting doesn’t just remove the oysters that people eat; it also removes vital habitat for other species.

Other Notable Polling Results

In addition to testing voter support for Chesapeake Bay oyster sanctuaries, the survey also found that:

• A vast majority of Maryland voters (89 percent) agree that they’d support legislative candidates who prioritize the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Just 4 percent disagree;
• Most Maryland voters (85 percent) say they want to maintain environmental programs that protect land, water, and wildlife in the state budget; and
• Support for a candidate that prioritizes Chesapeake Bay’s health was overwhelming across party lines, including 92 percent of Democrats, 91 percent of Independents, and 82 percent of Republicans.

About the Survey

Commissioned by CBF, the poll was conducted in July 2026 by the bipartisan research team of FM3 (Democratic) and New Bridge Strategy (Republican). The survey included 586 online and telephone interviews with Maryland voters, with an oversample of Eastern Shore voters. The margin of sampling error for the study is +/-4.4 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. Not all totals may sum to 100 percent due to rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of don’t know or not stated responses.