Franklin County residents urge the state to reopen oyster harvesting in Apalachicola Bay

North Florida residents are urging the state to once again allow oyster harvesting in the Apalachicola Bay.

When officials voted to ban wild harvesting back in 2020, it was touted as a way to restore the depleted oyster population after the BP oil spill.

However, Franklin County Commissioner Ricky Jones said at last week's legislative delegation meeting that his community is overly reliant on tourism to generate income.

“Franklin County's economy is 92 percent tourism," said Jones.

Jones made his complaints to state Senator Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, and House Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe. In his opening remarks, Shoaf said he would work towards getting the bay reopened.

“We need a unified voice from the oystermen,” he said. “Rarely do we find one voice. Let’s work together and get one goal, let’s get it open."

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is expected to revisit the five-year ban at the end of the year. Meanwhile, Governor Ron DeSantis is proposing $30 million of the state's 2025-2026 budget to go towards restoring the oyster reefs in Apalachicola Bay.

The budget also includes:

• $10 million for artificial reefs
• $150 million for local hurricane recovery and hardening efforts
• $100 million for statewide resilience projects
• $57 million for resiliency planning and coral reef protection
• $9 million to improve public access to maritime facilities

Commissioner Jones said at Thursday's meeting that he wants the Legislature to step in during session, to create a better oyster restoration plan.

"It’s not a matter of if, but when we’re going to get a hurricane, we cannot stay with one economy," he added. "We have to bring commercial seafood back."