The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has given final approval to a 5-year moratorium on oyster harvesting in the Apalachicola Bay.
The moratorium has been in effect since August the 1st under an executive order, but the final rule was not approved until yesterday.
The moratorium was created to help restore the wild oyster population in the Apalachicola Bay which has basically disappeared since 2012.
The rule includes the temporary suspension of all wild oyster harvest and the prohibition of on-the-water possession of wild oyster harvesting equipment on the Apalachicola Bay through December the 31st, 2025.
The changes do not affect perpetual leases or aquaculture.
The FWC says it will continue to monitor recovery of oysters and will re-evaluate whether limited harvest opportunities may be available before the moratorium officially ends.
Historically, nearly 90% of Florida’s and 10% of the nation’s wild oysters came from the Apalachicola Bay.
The oyster industry in Apalachicola collapsed in 2012 leading to a Commercial Fisheries Disaster Declaration from the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2013.
Today, Apalachicola Bay oyster abundance is at a historic low and conserving existing oysters and their habitat is of high importance.
Along with the harvesting moratorium, the FWC received a $20 million commitment from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Gulf Environmental Benefits Fund to conduct large-scale restoration of oyster habitat in the bay.
These funds will be used for a 5-year project that began this year, which includes developing a stakeholder-informed adaptive management plan for the oyster fishery and spreading shell to restore oyster habitat on 1,000 acres of bay bottom.
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