Commercial oyster harvesting to close on weekends beginning November 17th

Commercial oyster harvesting in the Apalachicola Bay will close on the weekends beginning November the 17^th.

The closure is automatic any time its found that oyster bars can’t survive a harvest of 300 bags per acre.

This year’s assessment has shown that oyster population numbers are depleted, most likely due to prolonged severe drought and a lack of fresh water from the Apalachicola River.

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

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

The automatic closure was put in place in the mid-1980s after several hurricanes hit the bay and acts as a method to limit harvest and give oysters time to recover from low population numbers.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission say the closures have been successful in returning the oyster population to a sustainable harvest level.

The weekend closure will remain in effect through May 31^st.

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