Tag Archives: Cedar Key

Salinity in Cedar Key: bad for drinking water, good for clams

June 21, 2012Newsaquaculture, Cedar Key, Cedar Key clams, Donna Green-Townsend, Leslie Sturmer, salinityDonna Green-Townsend

Aired on June 21st, 2012

Clam Farmers Play Waiting Game Final.wmv.Still013 — *Cedar Key clams (picture by Brittany Thompson)*

Cedar Key residents lined up on Wednesday to receive jugs of fresh drinking water. Saltwater intrusion into the city’s well field caused by the drought has city and health officials working for a solution. Meanwhile, the key industry that fuels the Cedar Key community is thriving. Clam farming has had a 45-million dollar impact on the coastal communities around Cedar Key. Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Donna Green-Townsend talked with aquaculture extension agent Leslie Sturmer about how the saltier conditions are giving clam farmers a bumper crop.

Cedar Key Fishermen Turn to Clam Farming After Net Ban

June 1, 1997NewsCedar Key, clam farming, Donna Green-Townsend, Florida fishing industry, net banDonna Green-Townsend

(Originally aired in the summer of 1997)

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(Photos courtesy of Brittany Thompson)

Nearly two years have passed since a long-time industry came to a screeching halt in Florida. A controversial net ban, passed by an overwhelming majority of Florida voters, has ended a way of life for thousands of commercial fishermen in the state. Many coastal communities continue to struggle today because their economies depended solely on the fishing industry. But in the sleepy, gulf coast community of Cedar Key, a new industry is emerging. In this story aired on Florida Public Radio, Donna Green-Townsend reports how former mullet fishermen, oystermen and crabbers have turned to aquaculture to turn things around.

Net Ban Part 1

Net Ban Part 2