Oyster grow-out site on the Choptank, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay  oyster

      What is Marinetics, Inc.?

        Marinetics, Inc. began as a commercial aquaculture company with a mission to produce a high quality oyster that is healthier for the consumer, while also helping to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Now operating as The Choptank Oyster Company, It has grown into a thriving oyster farm that produces an average of 1 to 2 million oysters per year. “Choptank Sweets” brand oysters are now enjoyed in fine restaurants throughout the Chesapeake Bay region and beyond. Ask for them by name when you want the best!

        The company first established itself in historic Dorchester County in 1996, an area long considered the heart of Maryland’s Eastern Shore and its oyster industry. Traditionally, millions of bushels of oysters were harvested annually from the surrounding waters, up until the 1970’s when harvest numbers began to drop off substantially. Over harvesting and degradation of the Chesapeake’s delicate ecosystem had virtually wiped out the wild oyster population. Unfortunately, most natural oyster beds are now sparsely populated despite expensive restoration efforts.

 Marinetics hatchery - Cambridge, MD oysters

try some choptank sweets, they are delicious

        At Marinetics, The Choptank Oyster Company, we are actively helping to turn this situation around, all while producing a superior quality product that can be enjoyed by oyster lovers everywhere. We have several million oysters sitting in the bay at any one time, each acting as a natural filter helping to remove large volumes of excess nutrients that have plagued the bay. Most of these oysters will spawn at least once before harvest thus releasing billions of oyster larvae into the water column to be distributed throughout the bay by tidal currents. We culture only the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), which is the species of oyster native to the Chesapeake Bay.

        Marinetics operates the only privately funded oyster hatchery in the state of Maryland.  We are a vertically integrated company, meaning that we maintain maximum control over each step in the production process from egg to product delivery.  This allows us to keep costs down, and ensure that only the highest quality products reach our customers.