Governor Scott asks for federal disaster declaration for Apalachicola Bay oyster harvesting areas

Governor Rick Scott has asked the U.S. Department of Commerce for a declaration of a fishery resource disaster for Florida’s oyster harvesting areas in the Gulf of Mexico, particularly in the Apalachicola Bay.

Local oystermen have reported that oyster numbers are down substantially in the bay, which has been backed up by recent Department of Agriculture assessments of the oyster stock.

State assessments found that oyster populations are depleted across most of the reefs and those oysters that are left have been severely stressed.

Production estimates for the winter bars were the lowest reported in the past 20 years.

The state said the oyster have been damaged by the drought that has impacted the entire southeast, as well as continued impacts from tropical weather this summer.

Apalachicola bay oysters have also seen some heavy harvesting pressure especially after the BP oil spill in 2010 when there were fears that oil would pollute the bay and demolish the resource.

Whatever the cause, the news is not good for Franklin County.

The value of the oyster landings in 2011 was valued an over 6.6 million dollars – a large portion of the local economy.

The oyster industry also provides directly and indirectly about 2500 local jobs, which is nearly half of the local workforce.

Governor Scott has asked that Department of Commerce make emergency funding available through the Magnuson-Stevens Act to further assess the causes of the oyster decline and determine what can be done to restore the affected resources.

He said the money is also needed to provide immediate economic assistance to fishing communities and small businesses, including oyster fishermen affected by the disaster. 

You can see the state report and the governor’s disaster declaration request for yourself on the news page at oysterradio.com and on our facebook page.

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