EASTPOINT, Fla. (WTXL) — With Apalachicola Bay set to reopen in January, members of the public have questions about regulations and concerns regarding the bay's restoration. The Partnership for a Resilient Apalachicola Bay brought those to light during their monthly meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
- Apalachicola Bay is set to open in January after the FWC voted in favor of a harvest back in August.
- The restoration efforts are still ongoing to bring the bay back to how it was before it's decline in 2013.
- Watch the video above to learn more about how the FWC is taking public feedback on the reopening.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The Partnership of a Resilient Apalachicola Bay held its monthly meeting on Wednesday afternoon. Much of the discussion with the FWC was about the regulations and efforts to restore the bay.
The partnership is a group of local business owners, local government, and oystermen who have an interest in the bay and its ecosystem.
Oystermen are ready to start harvesting these oysters again but are concerned about the bay's restoration.
"But when you get that right combination of the fresh water and
salt water, there ain't nothing like it," said Roger Mathis, Osyterman.
Apalachicola is known for its oysters, but with the decline of the bay, it closed in 2020.
So, when the FWC voted in August to reopen the bay, it was opened with welcomed arms.
"Well, it's affected the community economically and culturally," said Ottic Amison, is a county commissioner and president of the Partnership of a Resilient Apalachicola Bay. "I mean, we're a fishing community. A fishing village always has been, and it's predominantly been oysters. And it's more of a lifestyle."
However, at Wednesday's partnership meeting a hot topic for discussion: the restoration.
"There hasn't been a restoration done the sites that's out there are pilot study sites," explained Amison. "So, we haven't really had a large-scale restoration done yet where we have a tremendous amount of material going into the bay. So, people need to keep that in mind, and that needs to be understood."
They will be applying for $30 million in funding from the state to continue to build the bay. The FWC encouraged people in attendance to reach out to legislators in support of the funding.
"That funding is basically you take material, put it back on the bar, to help the bar grow back osyters. If you don't, you just keep depleting the resources," explained John Creamer, a FWC representative.
A local oysterman who helps the FSU Marine Lab conduct studies on the bay says that more funding can really help bring the bay back to how it was. He says that parts of the bay are better than 5-10 years ago, it's nowhere near what it used to be.
"What's out there is less than a really bad season comparison, if you want to compare anything," said Shannon Hartsfield, an Oysterman. "But what we've seen over the last 10 years is better than we've seen in quite a while. Like I said, it seemed like every time we put fresh material out there, the oysters really attached to it, really good, and they thrive. Now, what we're seeing, I'm seeing out there, is a lot of the adult oysters done lived out their lifespan. We have the fastest growing oyster, but the shortest lifespan."
The FWC will be holding public meetings on September 30th and October 7th in Franklin County about the bay’s reopening.
Another big concern was about the weight of the bags.
As of now, the FWC says that each harvesting bag is allowed to weigh 60lbs, if that bag weighs more than that, it's considered two bags.
Harvesters said that sometimes bags can hold more than 60 lbs, and without weighing equipment on the boat, it would be hard to tell before getting back on land.
However, a local harvester is ready to get out there again after so long, but knows there's still more fine-tuning in this process.
"We just gonna have to, they are still working hashing out the regulations for how long you're gonna be able to work, we're gonna be able to catch so they know what's going on," said Mathis. "I'm glad it's open. We're just gonna have to see how it works when they do.
The FWC representatives say they're going to look into it more as more public comment meetings happen over the coming weeks.
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