The state is seeking an early harvest season to help Florida’s oystermen get a jump on harvesting before the oil spreading throughout the Gulf of Mexico could possibly cancel all harvesting.
On Thursday, the state Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson asked the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to open summer harvesting in Apalachicola Bay.
The summer season normally opens on June 1 and runs for 92 days, according to an e-mailed press release from the state department. Bronson’s request for immediate harvesting would move up the season by 11 days. The current winter harvest ends May 31.
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