The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will hold a virtual meeting on December 16th and 17th where they intend to take final action on a moratorium on oyster harvesting in the Apalachicola Bay.
The moratorium actually began on August the 1st but the final rule has not yet been approved.
The moratorium was created in an effort to help restore the wild oyster population in the Bay.
The rule also prohibits the possession of oyster tongs or other oyster harvesting equipment on the water.
The rule does not affect perpetual leases or aquaculture.
There is a five-year sunset provision in the rule, but if monitoring finds at least 300 bags of harvestable-sized oysters in a significant portion of the Bay, the bay could reopen sooner.
The Commission discussed the issue in October but held off on final acton to address concerns raised by officials in Gulf County.
The Apalachicola Bay once produced 90% of Florida’s commercial oyster harvest.
The oyster industry in Apalachicola collapsed in 2012 leading to a Commercial Fisheries Disaster Declaration from the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2013.
The dockside value of wild oysters harvested from Apalachicola Bay has declined by 98 percent since 2012.
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