FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 25, 2013
GOV. RICK SCOTT AND FLORIDA CABINET APPROVE LAND LEASE FOR INNOVATIVE OYSTER HARVESTING TECHNIQUE
~Innovative oyster
process could rejuvenate Apalachicola Bay industry~
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Governor Rick Scott along with the Florida
Cabinet approved innovative techniques to support the oyster fisheries in
Franklin County.
Gov.
Rick Scott said, “I’m proud to support efforts that can help Franklin County.
Our Florida Families First budget provides $4.7 million for water
quality restoration projects in the Apalachicola Bay estuary and oyster
shelling and research to help the industry recover. These new techniques will
support the oyster fisheries and help Florida families in Apalachicola.”
For
more than 20 years, the State of Florida has battled Georgia and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers over water that flows south from the Chattahoochee River
into the Apalachicola River and Bay. Historically low water levels brought about
by Georgia’s excessive consumption have caused oysters to die because of higher
salinity in the Bay and increased disease and predator intrusion.
Gov.
Rick Scott said, “The Cabinet’s action today allows Spring Creek Oyster Co.,
operating within Alligator Harbor Aquatic Preserve in Franklin County, to
modify two existing aquaculture leases in order to use the full water column
for oyster harvesting. Currently, the company uses the submerged land bottom to
conduct oyster cultivation by placing young oysters in cages at the bottom of
the waterbody. Once the oysters mature, the cages are removed and oysters
harvested.
“Allowing
the company to use the full water column will allow the cages to be suspended
above the bottom, providing the oysters some protection from predators and
greater access to nutrients as they grow. The floating cages may be the initial
step in a new aquaculture practice and may become a potential alternative
economic stimulus for the eastern bounds of Apalachicola Bay, which
historically has produced 90 percent of the oysters in Florida and 10 percent
of the nation’s supply.
“Allowing use of the full water column is the only change to
Spring Creek Oyster Co.’s two aquaculture leases, which expire Jan. 29, 2022
and March 29, 2022. The company is a current submerged land leaseholder and is
in compliance with the terms and conditions of two existing leases and the
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’
aquaculture best management practices. Both the Department of Environmental
Protection and Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services have reviewed
the proposed modification to the existing leases and determined that the activities
will not result in adverse impacts to seagrasses, existing shellfish beds,
natural reefs or other sensitive habitats.”
| 
