Rising river levels close oyster harvesting areas

Portions of the Apalachicola Bay will close to oyster harvesting over the weekend as flood waters from Georgia make their way down the Apalachicola River into harvesting waters of the Apalachicola Bay. The Department of Agriculture will close the conditionally approved winter west 1 area of the bay at sunset today. That’s area 1612. The conditionally approved winter west 2 and winter east areas of the bay will close at sunset on Sunday. Those are areas 1622 and 1642. The closures are due to rising waters in the Apalachicola River. River levels at Blountstown are above 16 feet today and are expected to rise above 20 feet by Sunday. Counties long the Apalachicola River including Franklin, Gulf, Liberty, and Calhoun counties are under a flood warning until further notice.