Collapse of the Oyster Fishery in Apalachicola Bay, Florida

Apalachicola Bay is a highly productive estuarine system that has supported a successful commercial oyster fishery in the Florida Panhandle for decades.  In recent years, the fishery accounted for over 90 percent of annual oyster harvest in Florida with average landings of approximately 2.5 million pounds from 2007 through 2011.  However, in late 2012, landings declined sharply coincident with decreased freshwater inputs to the estuary resulting from low river flow due to drought conditions in the southeast U.S. and increased water withdrawals from upstream metropolitan areas.  The associated increases in estuarine salinity likely caused physiological stress in the oysters as well as increased disease and predation rates.  Simultaneously, fishing pressure increased due to limited availability of oysters from other Gulf Coast fisheries following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.  The resultant collapse of the fishery prompted Florida officials to request a declaration of commercial fishery failure which was granted by the United States Department of Commerce on August 12, 2013.  This declaration includes funding for restoration of oyster habitat and monitoring of existing oyster resources.  In addition, a separate study funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will determine optimal cultch density for future habitat restoration projects.