Florida representatives request fishery failure declaration for Apalachicola Bay

Representative Steve Southerland has joined in the call for a federal disaster declaration for oyster harvesting area in Florida.

On Wednesday Representative Southerland issued a letter to Acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank requesting a federal fisheries disaster declaration for oyster harvesting operations in Apalachicola Bay and the surrounding region. 

Southerland was joined by Florida Senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson and Florida Representatives Jeff Miller and Richard Nugent in sending the letter to Secretary Blank.

A similar request was made by Florida Governor Rick Scott last week.

North Florida’s oyster population has been in a steep decline due to drought conditions and harvesting pressures resulting from the moratorium in the western Gulf after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Southerland said he is hopeful that the urgent plea on behalf of Florida’s oystermen will result in an immediate federal fishery disaster declaration for harvesting and processing in Apalachicola Bay and the surrounding region.

Without swift action, Franklin County alone could see 2,500 oyster-related jobs negatively impacted by this unprecedented decline in the fishery’s population. 

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