FLORIDA MIGHT BAN HARVESTING OF FAMOUS APALACHICOLA OYSTERS

Concerned about its dwindling oyster population, Florida is expected to shut down oyster harvesting in Apalachicola Bay through the end of 2025, dealing a blow to an area that historically produced 90% of the state’s oysters and 10% of the nation’s, Brendan Farrington reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is scheduled to vote on the closure during a virtual meeting. People in the area are divided between coming up with a long-term plan to save the industry, and allowing it to continue on a limited basis.

“It breaks my heart, man. I’ve watched boats out there my whole life,” said Brandon Martina, who works at Lynn’s Quality Oysters, a bayfront business his family has run since 1971.

The business started out as a wholesale oyster-shucking house, but as supplies dwindled, they converted it into a retail seafood shop and restaurant. But instead of serving Apalachicola oysters, they’re buying them from Texas. “We went from running tractor-trailer loads to getting maybe eight to 10 bags a day, so we just started doing a hatch shell bar,” he said.

The commission issued an emergency order in July shutting down oyster harvesting on Aug. 1 until it considers the five-year shutdown at Wednesday’s meeting. The industry has struggled for years, in large part due to a drain on freshwater flowing into the bay. Atlanta uses the water upstream as a water supply, and as it has drawn more water, it’s affected the salinity level in the bay that helps oysters thrive.

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