Credit: Andrew S. Lewis
In the last 20 years, but especially since Superstorm Sandy, the mouth of Nantuxent Creek has become dangerously shallow. At the top of the image, around the second bend of the creek, is where the oyster fleet’s docks are located.
For more than a decade, Cumberland County’s oystermen have faced a cruel irony at Nantuxent Creek, Money Island, home to the fleet’s most important offloading port during the spring and summer oyster season.
On the highest tides, access to the docks scattered along the creek is impossible, due to flooding that overtakes the only road into Money Island. On the lowest tides, the creek mouth becomes so shallow that the fleet is left stranded inside, unable to reach the bay for several precious hours.