TALLAHASSEE — Apalachicola Bay oysters, sweet and salty mollusks best served raw on the half-shell with a little lemon juice, will be off the menu for up to five years in the latest effort to revive the oyster population in the Franklin County bay.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission unanimously agreed Wednesday to issue an order that will ban the harvesting of wild oysters starting Aug. 1 from Apalachicola Bay as part of a $20 million restoration effort.
The bay, which once supplied more than 90 percent of Florida’s oysters, has been on life support for nearly a decade due to drought, overharvesting and, according to Florida officials, the drain of freshwater at the heart of the state’s “water war” with Georgia.
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