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Description

This is a photo of Apalachicola Bay, which is protected by the St. George barrier island shown in a previous photo. Balancing human needs with ecological health is rarely a win-win. In the case of the oyster industry and the ecology of Apalachicola Bay, it’s a lose-lose. The oyster industry has been operating there since the 1800s, providing humans with 3 million pounds (1.4 million kilograms) of oysters a year. However, over the years the freshwater supply to the bay was reduced by upstream withdrawals and pollution has increased. This decreased the oyster growth and reproduction that local families depend on. While the Bay’s ecology was in decline, ocean warming was increasing, with an increase in the strength of hurricanes. In 2018 the already weakened Bay ecology was dealt a death blow by category 5 Hurricane Michael. By 2020 the oyster population had collapsed to the point that the State of Florida had to shut down the oyster industry in Apalachicola bay.

Description

This is a photo of Apalachicola Bay, which is protected by the St. George barrier island shown in a previous photo. Balancing human needs with ecological health is rarely a win-win. In the case of the oyster industry and the ecology of Apalachicola Bay, it’s a lose-lose. The oyster industry has been operating there since the 1800s, providing humans with 3 million pounds (1.4 million kilograms) of oysters a year. However, over the years the freshwater supply to the bay was reduced by upstream withdrawals and pollution has increased. This decreased the oyster growth and reproduction that local families depend on. While the Bay’s ecology was in decline, ocean warming was increasing, with an increase in the strength of hurricanes. In 2018 the already weakened Bay ecology was dealt a death blow by category 5 Hurricane Michael. By 2020 the oyster population had collapsed to the point that the State of Florida had to shut down the oyster industry in Apalachicola bay.