FWC ends check stations for Apalachicola Bay oyster harvesters

            The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently ended its check stations in the Apalachicola Bay and said they proved very effective.

Check Stations, which the FWC called Operation Once Again, were set up last November to make sure oystermen weren’t harvesting undersized oysters.

The check stations allowed state officials to set up in two locations in Eastpoint and Apalachicola and examine all oysters that were harvested from the Apalachicola Bay to make sure they were at least 3 inches long.

Over a period of 5 months, 164 conservation officers participated in manning the check stations as well as conducting water patrol for size tolerance enforcement.  

Officers checked 5,443 commercial harvesters and visually inspected 14,504 bags of oysters.  

During the inspections, officers issued 55 warnings for size tolerance violations, along with 12 warnings for various other violations.  

Officers on the water issued 56 citations for size tolerance violations over the same time period, along with 35 citations for various other violations.

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