APALACHICOLA, Fla. (AP) - Apalachicola Bay and Florida’s oyster industry are going to get some financial assistance from the federal government.
State and federal elected officials said Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Commerce has approved $6.3 million in disaster assistance funding.
Gov. Rick Scott said the money can be used to help the restoration of Apalachicola Bay and assist affected oystermen.
Last year, federal officials declared a fishery disaster for oystermen in the Gulf Coast. The collapse of the oyster industry followed a drought that reduced freshwater into the bay.
The state’s agriculture agency found the 2012 oyster harvest to be the lowest in two decades, dropping from 430 to 64 oysters per square meter. The historically low harvest affected an estimated 2,500 bay jobs.
Before production collapsed, the bay supplied 90 percent of the state’s oysters and 10 percent across the country.
State officials have also blamed the lack of freshwater due to increased consumption in Georgia. Oysters need a mix of both fresh and salt water.
Florida last fall filed a lawsuit against Georgia with the U.S. Supreme Court over water consumption.
The disaster assistance will go to hiring fishermen to lay oyster shells in the bay, which give oyster larvae someplace to attach and develop, said Shannon Hartsfield, president of the Franklin County Seafood Workers Association.
The bay also has been helped by more rainfall, he said.
“It’ll never get back to where it was, but it could get back close, and if we manage it right, it could sustain a good living for our locals,” Hartsfield told The News Herald (https://bit.ly/1lneAOq).
U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Panama City, praised the funding announcement.
“I am pleased that these hardworking north Florida families will receive the relief they so desperately need,” he said in a statement. “While this disaster assistance is a critical step forward, the fight for our oyster fishery is far from over. I remain committed to doing all I can to help Apalachicola Bay’s oyster fishery not just survive, but thrive for generations to come.”
The bay also received $4.2 million in federal money in November for restoration research. That funding comes from BP fines levied after the 2010 oil spill.
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Information from: The (Panama City, Fla.) News Herald, https://www.newsherald.com
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