5 day workweek approved for summer oyster season

Oystermen are only allowed to work 5 days a week during this year’s summer season which began on Saturday.

The temporary rule was established by executive order of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission last week.

Commercial harvest of oysters will be closed on Fridays and Saturdays through the summer season.

The temporary rule will expire on August 31st, when the summer bars close and the winter oyster bars reopen for harvest.

All other bag limits, seasons and size limits remain unchanged.

Apalachicola Bay includes all waters within St. George Sound, East Bay, Apalachicola Bay, and St. Vincent Sound in Franklin County as well as Indian Lagoon in Gulf County. 

The change does not apply to active oyster leases or recreational harvest. 

State officials, working with the oyster industry, concluded that the shortened work week would help conserve oyster resources throughout the summer harvesting season.

The FWC called it a proactive measure to balance the availability of harvestable oysters with efforts to restore oyster populations in the Apalachicola Bay which have suffered mainly due to lack of freshwater flow over the past few years.

The shortened work week is one of many efforts from various state and local agencies to help rebuild and conserve the oyster population in Apalachicola Bay.

Other efforts have included relocating oysters from closed areas to open areas and adding shell to existing oyster bars, which provides a base on which juvenile oysters can build.

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