Rick Scott: Oyster Harvesting Failing around Apalachicola Bay

Gov. Rick Scott has asked the U.S. Department of Commerce to declare oyster harvesting areas in the Gulf of Mexico around Apalachicola Bay a fishery resource disaster in part because of years of drought conditions and overharvesting.

Scott sent a letter requesting the designation to Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank on Thursday after Franklin County leaders estimated that 2,500 jobs have been impacted by the decline in harvesting conditions.

The Florida Panhandle and Apalachicola Bay, as the drainage basin of the Apalachicola, Flint, and Chattahoochee Rivers, have experienced drought conditions for several years resulting in reduced freshwater input into Apalachicola Bay, Scott wrote.

This absence of fresh water contributes to higher salinity levels adversely affecting oyster populations and contributing to mass natural mortality events and a dramatic increase in oyster predation.

Scott noted that harvesting practices have been altered and stressed as harvesting areas in neighboring states were closed, which has resulted overharvesting of illegal and sub-legal oysters.

Recent oyster resource assessments indicate that the outlook for the 2012/2013 harvesting season is poor and unlikely to sustain commercial harvesting levels, Scott wrote.

As part of the request, Scott has asked for disaster relief money to help further assess the causes of the decline, determine what can be done to reverse the trends and to help the business community impacted by the disaster.