UF report: collapse of oyster industry due to drought, salinity (04/26/2013)

By Donna Green-Townsend on April 26th, 2013

Working oyster boats on Apalachicola Bay (photo by Donna Green-Townsend)

Two unmanned oyster boats on Apalachicola Bay (photo by Donna Green-Townsend)

Pile of oyster shells by Apalachicola Bay (photo by Donna Green-Townsend)

The severe drought in 2012 caused an historic collapse of Florida’s oyster industry. During the past year a variety of state agencies have been working for the Florida Sea Grant Program to try and understand all the causes for the fishery disaster. The cooperative effort is working toward designing a plan to help restore and manage the industry in the future. WUFT’s Donna Green-Townsend talked with the Director of the Florida Sea Grant College Program, Karl Havens, who is heading up the University of Florida’s Oyster Recovery Team,about the findings outlined in the group’s special report this week. .