Apalachicola Bay Oysters Return With Limits
FRANKLIN COUNTY, Fla. – Since its closure in 2020, the oyster population in the Apalachicola Bay has been slow to recover.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissioners say they don’t want to undo progress. On Wednesday, they decided on a limited reopening of the Apalachicola Bay.
The first harvest season will be from Jan. 1 to Feb. 28. It will only be opened to areas with more than 400 bags of oysters per acre of legal-sized oysters.
“That only means about four areas, less than a hundred acres, will be opened. And so of that, it’ll be ten they’re targeting maximum 10% of the abundance of oysters in those four areas. And that’s very conservative. And I think that’s the approach we appreciate because it’s it’s not it’s leaving oysters in here in place that could serve as that habitat to serve as spawning for future generations of oysters,” Pew Charitable Trusts Science and Policy Officer Chad Hanson said.
Harvesters will be selected through a lottery process to receive a Commercial Apalachicola Bay Recreational Opportunity Permit.
Qualified applicants would have to have legally harvested and sold wild oysters from the Apalachicola Bay between 2012 and 2020. The number of endorsements issued for the 2026 season will set the cap for future seasons.
“If 150 people apply for this first season and they’re qualifying, get the endorsement that that creates 150 endorsements, there’ll be 150 endorsements available to fishermen for Apalachicola Bay year after year moving forward until the Commission decides to change that number,” Division of Marine Fisheries Management Section Leader Erika Burgess said.
Some oystermen are concerned about the harvest limits.
“Making a limited entry license and some of these other restrictions is just so unnecessary and actually expensive. And we need to be focused more on restoration rather than unnecessary. Rules, regulations and restrictions,” Seafood Work and Waterman’s Association President Wayne Williams said.
Harvesters are also required to report their harvesting activity to the FWC through an oyster harvesting app.
“We want to start conservatively to ensure that we’re open next year and the year after that and the year after that. We don’t want to go into another closure. So we’re being conservative now and we would be we would love the opportunity to be present on how things are going and give you the opportunity to change things as we progress in recovery,” Burgess said.
The FWC plans to request money from the state legislature for more restoration efforts. They estimate they need between $30 million and $55 million to restore 2,000 acres of oyster reefs by 2032.
The 2026 harvest applications period will run from November 10th until December 16th. Future seasons will tentatively run from October to February.