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Florida - Oyster populations decline in Escambia & Santa Rosa counties: Oysterman call for closures
Florida - Oyster populations decline in Escambia & Santa Rosa counties: Oysterman call for closures
Experts explain oyster die-off; oystermen call for closures
11:00 PM, Mar. 7, 2012
Scientists still don't have definitive answers as to why the oyster populations in bays in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties declined dramatically in November.
A monstrous bloom of toxic algae looming across the Texas coast has shut down oyster season. Fueled by Texas' ongoing drought, the algae ? known as Karenia brevis? thrives in warm, salty water and has spread through the bays and islands along Texas' 350-mile coast, says Meridith Byrd, a marine biologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The algae could cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea in humans and is harmful to fish but not fatal to people, she says.
State health officials took the rare step of closing the entire coast for oyster harvesting ? all 17,586 acres of oyster beds ? before the season opened Nov. 1.
But before that drought had already been implicated in decline:
Drought is damaging Texas' oyster fisheries - 7/31/2011 [ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43962726.../#.T1jcfx3wByA ]
This year, the drought has made the water in Texas' Galveston Bay, where most of the state's oysters are harvested, so salty that predators and disease are thriving. Conditions are so dire, the deadly "dermo" parasite has been found in two reefs where it's never been seen before.
Combined with the losses in the southeastern states, consumers may be hard-pressed to find Gulf Coast oysters this year.
Gov. Rick Scott visited the fishing and oystering town of East Point on Wednesday to meet with local officials and residents impacted by a massive downturn in the oyster harvest brought on in part by drought, that follows a more general long-term decline in the industry.
If the most dire predictions about problems in the oyster industry in Franklin County materialize, nearly half the workforce in the county could face unemployment.
Scott asked Washington for help on the issue last month, telling the U.S. Department of Commerce that local officials have estimated the oyster downturn could affect 2,500 jobs.
Beckham said currently there is only one place she can harvest oysters from, and zoning laws tend to make harvesting more difficult. She usually tells her oyster harvesters to bring in at least 15 bushels of oysters, but this year she only receives about 12.
Many of Beckham’s customers will not be receiving as many oysters this year, she said. Of the oysters she catches, only 20 percent are alive.
Eastpoint, Fla. -
The last couple of months have been tough on oystermen in Franklin County, and projections look bleak. That's why stake holders of the Apalachicola- Chattahoochee-Flint water basin invited the Army Corps of Engineers to see the devastation for themselves.
The stakeholders say it basically boils down to an unbalanced system. The lack of fresh water is causing oysters to die at a rapid rate, and if you couple that with a lack of funding for research and infrastructure projects, it's a catastrophe in the works.
APALACHICOLA | Drought, a massive oil spill, a tropical storm and the state?s long-running water war with a neighboring state have combined to put the Florida Panhandle seafood industry in crisis, threatening the $6.6 million seafood industry ? and for many people here, a way of life.
Local workforce officials are trying to get out-of-work seafood workers to take classes in other fields, like welding, health care jobs and golf course and resort work.
Some say the bay might have to be closed for as long as 12 to 18 months, which hasn?t happened since a series of hurricanes hit in 1985.
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