October 7, 2014 — The following was released by the Gulf Seafood Institute:
Oyster harvesting in Florida’s Apalachicola Bay may shut down entirely for an extended period of time resulting in an even further scarcity of Gulf oysters in the marketplace if new restrictions are put in place by a Florida state agency.
Drought in the upper Apalachicola Bay Basin, agricultural water usage in the Flint River Basin, and domestic and industrial water usage in the Upper Chattahoochee River Basin are principle causes elevating the salinity problems in Apalachicola Bay into which the three rivers empty. According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Executive Director Nick Wiley, if restrictions put in place for the coming winter don’t help the imperiled fishery recover, shutting down the Bay might be the only option.
“It’s very likely that we’re going to have to entertain a possible complete closure of the Apalachicola oyster harvest,” Wiley told his commission members. “We want to take that step very carefully, and only do that if everybody feels that’s what we have to do.”
According to Chris Nelson of the Gulf Oyster Industry Council and a Gulf Seafood Institute board member, this is just one more example of how “salinity changes” have produced growing challenges for Gulf Coast oyster production. “In this case a dry climate cycle and increasing upstream usage and impoundment of freshwater has created an inhospitable environment for oyster growth and reproduction in the Apalachicola Bay system,” the oyster expert told Gulf Seafood News.
Read the full story from the Gulf Seafood Institute