Spring Creek Oyster Company receives approval for oyster aquaculture at Alligator Point

Spring Creek Oyster Company has been given approval to grow oysters in Alligator Harbor.

The Florida cabinet agreed this week to expand aquaculture leases in Franklin County that will enable Spring Creek Oyster Company to use the full water column to grow oysters, the first enterprise of its kind in an area where the wild oyster industry is struggling.

Spring Creek Oyster Company recently began experimenting with the cultivation of oysters in cages to serve at its Spring Creek Restaurant in Crawfordville.

The oysters were farmed on the company’s current submerged land leases used for clams in Alligator Harbor.

Spring Creek Oyster Company requested approval of the Florida Cabinet for use of the full water column to suspend oyster cages.

This places the oysters in the most nutrient-rich part of the water, which reduces predators, shortens the grow-out time and improves survival rates.

The two leases that were modified this week are 1.5 acres each in the Alligator Harbor Aquaculture Use Zone near St. Teresa Beach.

Agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam said the new oyster farming technique could be one of the keys to saving the oyster industry in Florida adding that he’s hopeful it will increase productivity, create jobs and supplement traditional oyster harvests.

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