Maryland’s commercial oyster season for the 2026-27 year opened Oct. 1, 2026, for hand tongs, patent tongs and divers, and opens Nov. 1 for dredge gear. Both groups can harvest through March 31, 2027, under rules the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) set in a public notice that took effect July 4, 2026.
The season arrives after a hard winter for watermen and, at the same time, some of the best biological news the Chesapeake Bay’s oysters have seen in decades. This guide explains the rules, the daily limits and what the state’s own data says about the rebound.
When does the 2026-27 commercial season run?
According to the DNR’s public notice, the season depends on the gear a waterman uses. Shaft (hand) tong, patent tong and dive harvesters may work from Oct. 1, 2026, through and including March 31, 2027. Power dredge, sail dredge and sail dredge with an auxiliary yawl boat may work from Nov. 1, 2026, through and including March 31, 2027. The season is closed on all other dates.
Commercial harvest is allowed only Monday through Friday. The rules apply to open oyster harvest areas, which the notice defines as submerged ground where harvest is allowed. That definition leaves out aquaculture leases, areas restricted by the Maryland Department of the Environment, submerged aquatic vegetation protection zones, harvest reserve areas and sanctuaries.
Quick facts: the 2026-27 commercial rules
| Item | Detail (per DNR public notice, effective July 4, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Hand tong, patent tong, dive season | Oct. 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 |
| Power dredge and sail dredge season | Nov. 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 |
| Days allowed | Monday through Friday |
| Tong or dive limit | 12 bushels per licensee per day, 24 per boat |
| Power dredge limit | 10 bushels per licensee per day, 20 per boat |
| Sail dredge limit | 100 bushels per licensee and per boat per day |
| Authority | Code of Maryland Regulations 08.02.04.11G |
How many bushels can a waterman take?
Daily limits are set by gear, and the gear used during the day decides which limit applies.
- A licensee using a shaft tong, patent tong, dive equipment or any combination of them may harvest up to 12 bushels a day, with a boat cap of 24 bushels.
- A licensee who uses a power dredge at any point in the day is held to 10 bushels, with a boat cap of 20, regardless of what other gear is used that day.
- A licensee using only a sail dredge, or a sail dredge with an auxiliary yawl boat, may take up to 100 bushels, and the boat total also cannot exceed 100.
A worked example
Illustrative arithmetic shows what the tong limit means over a work week. A licensee working all five permitted days at the 12-bushel limit could land at most 60 bushels (5 × 12). Two licensees sharing one boat are held to the 24-bushel boat cap, so a two-person crew at the limit could land at most 120 bushels in five days (5 × 24). Actual landings are usually lower, because weather, ice and market demand all shape how many days boats go out.
Did the same rules apply last year, and why was the season extended?
Last winter tested the industry. In a Feb. 19, 2026, announcement, DNR Secretary Josh Kurtz approved a two-week extension of the commercial season for all gear types, moving the end date from March 31 to April 14, 2026. The DNR said ice on many waterways and parts of the Bay in January and early February blocked access to traditional harvest areas, and that buyers had been purchasing from harvesters as little as one day a week, or less, over the previous two years.
The extension took effect Feb. 23, 2026. Gear restrictions and bushel limits stayed in place, and handscraping was not permitted in hand tong areas. The State Oyster Committee requested the extension, and the chair of the Tidal Fish Advisory Commission supported it before DNR reviewed it. The recreational season was not affected. Kurtz said the department was confident the extension would not affect the “ongoing resurgence of oysters in the Bay and local rivers.”
What does the state’s data say about the oyster population?
The biological picture is strong. In a March 9, 2026, announcement, the DNR said the 2025 concentration of new oysters, called spat, was nearly six times the long-term average and the second highest in the 41-year modern survey history. At key monitoring sites the index averaged 250 spat per bushel, the highest since 1997, against a long-term average of 42.2. A quick check: 250 divided by 42.2 is about 5.9, consistent with “nearly six times.”
The same release reported that oyster mortality was the third lowest since 1985 and that biomass was the highest in the 33 years DNR has estimated it, more than five times the 2002 low, when disease devastated populations. Dermo disease presence and intensity were among the lowest in 36 years. Two bars in Broad Creek held 3,600 spat per bushel, and the St. Marys River restoration sanctuary had more than 2,100.
On population size, the DNR says adult oysters in Maryland’s Bay waters more than tripled to over 7.6 billion from a low of 2.4 billion in 2005. The agency notes that oysters take about one to three years to grow from spat to adults, so a strong year class takes time to reach market size.
What did the five-year management review find?
On Oct. 2, 2026, the DNR released its 2021-2025 Oyster Management Review, which examines sanctuaries, public fishery areas and aquaculture every five years. Kurtz called the period “the remarkable success story for oysters in Maryland.” The department said it met or made positive progress on its objectives in all three areas.
Sanctuaries. Of the state’s 51 sanctuaries as of 2025, five are restored and 12 show positive growth or above-average densities. Sixteen have received or are planned for restoration, and four are underperforming and under evaluation. Five are designated for education or research, and nine lack data. In all, 33 are restored, improving or being restored, against four not doing better since designation. DNR completed initial restoration of five large-scale tributary sanctuaries in 2025.
Public fishery areas. The DNR said harvests in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons were the highest in decades, with dockside values of more than $21 million and $31 million. Most non-sanctuary areas saw significant gains in live oyster density, market-sized oysters and biomass. The low-salinity Lower Chester River had poor recruitment, which led to some local harvest closures.
How big is oyster farming in Maryland?
Aquaculture is the fastest-moving piece. According to the review, from 2010 through 2025 the DNR received 649 shellfish lease applications, and there are now 471 active leases covering 7,622 acres. Harvest grew from 22,428 bushels in 2013 to 94,286 bushels in 2023, roughly a fourfold rise (94,286 divided by 22,428 is about 4.2). The DNR estimates the industry generates more than $13 million in economic impact a year.
Leasing was modernized in 2010 and now requires active cultivation. Aquaculture leases sit outside the wild-harvest rules above.
What should recreational harvesters and diners know?
Recreational harvesters follow a separate set of rules, published in their own DNR notice. According to the DNR’s oyster page, they need a $10 recreational oyster license, sold under the Sport Fishing menu on the MD Outdoors system. The department publishes a 2026-2027 Shellfish Closure Book with maps of sanctuaries and reserves, and says restricted areas are always closed. Conditional areas close after an inch or more of rain in a 24-hour period, and the DNR lists 410-537-4450 for checking those closures. Pollution-related closures are listed by the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Oysters also rank second only to crabbing in dockside value, according to the DNR, and have averaged more than $18 million a year over the past five years, with watermen harvesting an average of 475,000 bushels a year from 2021 to 2025. For more on the state’s other signature shellfish, see our guide to Maryland’s blue crab season and the winter dredge survey, and for the flavors that go with both, the story of Old Bay. Readers interested in the water’s economic reach can also read about the Port of Baltimore by the numbers.
What to watch as the season unfolds
The rules for 2026-27 are unchanged in structure: tongs and divers first, dredges a month later, Monday-through-Friday work, and gear-based daily limits. The open questions are about the market rather than the Bay. The DNR’s own account of last winter points to ice and thin buyer demand as the main obstacles, while its data points to large oyster stocks that can support future harvests. Whether prices and buyer demand catch up with the biology will shape how this season looks for the watermen who work it.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Fishing and harvest rules can change, so confirm current requirements and closures with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources before harvesting.
Sources: Maryland Department of Natural Resources; Maryland DNR News
