Hope Floats on the Chesapeake: A Passion For Innovation Fuels Oyster Farmer

Story by Jamie Clark Tiralla and Photography by Ed Mann

Richard Pelz, founder and CEO of the Circle C Oyster Ranch in Ridge, Maryland, stands on a modest pier that stretches out into St. Jerome Creek near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. "There used to be thick black muck here," Pelz says of the beach, "now I leave footprints in the sand." The water here is clear and teeming with fish, crabs and shrimp. Ospreys nest just off the end of the pier; this is the vision that Pelz has for the entire Bay.

He reaches his hand into a five gallon bucket. "Do you want to see the baby oysters?" he asks, beaming like a proud father. In fact, Pelz is something of a father to these oysters. Selective breeding stands at one cornerstone of the Circle C operation. For nearly two decades, Pelz has been perfecting his own strain of Crassostrea Virginica or Eastern Oyster, as he calls the Lineback© oyster. What he has achieved is a bigger, meatier oyster. Combined with Pelz's patented Floating Oyster Reef™, Circle C oysters can grow up to three times faster than wild oysters.

Pelz doesn't see the same barriers that most people do. When he was six years old, he developed mumps meningitis. He spent six weeks in an intensive care unit and had to relearn basic skills, such as crawling. One of the lingering effects was dyslexia, but Pelz has never thought of it as a disability. "I see things differently. There is no up or down, left or right." It is this kind of thinking that allowed Pelz to pursue a career in aquaculture.

Signs of Pelz invention are all around the Circle C Oyster Ranch. "I really enjoy the research and development side of things," he says. In fact, Pelz invented the floating oyster reef system that Circle C employs. Hundreds of oyster reefs float off Pelz pier, all at various stages of maturity.

Since childhood, Pelz has cared about the environment. His father encouraged him to join the International Oceanographic Foundation. Pelz says it took him about a month of working odd jobs and saving his allowance to raise the $20 he needed for his membership. Likely one of the foundation's youngest members, he waited anxiously each month for his copy of Sea Frontiers: Bulletin of the International Oceano?graphic Foundation. There he learned of the potential of the Chesapeake Bay to produce food.

At the heart of Pelz's operation is his desire to help starving children around the world by producing local food. Growing oysters for food is so important to Pelz because producing local food leaves resources in third world countries to those who need it most.

Historically, the Chesapeake Bay was one of the world's leading producers of oysters in the world. Near the end of the 19th century, Maryland boasted a record 15 million bushels harvested in just one season. Since then, however, the oyster production has sharply declined. Over harvesting, pollution and disease are mainly to blame. Pelz is determined to help restore the Bay with his innovative oyster cultivation methods.

Pelz lobbies local and state officials for Bay-friendly legislation and often speaks about his floating oyster reef system and its benefits. He passes his message along to the next generation of would be aquaculturists by hosting school field trips at the Circle C Oyster Ranch.

"Oysters," Pelz says, "are the keystone species. "If you can fix the oyster problem, you can fix the rest."

The Circle C Oyster Ranch is located at 49944 Airedele Road in Ridge, Maryland. Visitors are welcome; please call 301-872-4177 to schedule an appointment.