The UF Oyster Recovery Team, established in 2013 to help restore Apalachicola Bay’s collapsed oyster fishery, has just released results of a community listening session held in early October.
The session facilitated discussion about the needs of the Apalachicola Bay community, due to concerns expressed by seafood workers and residents about a possible closure of the bay to oyster harvesting, and a perceived lack of transparency in spending recovery funds. Approximately 70 people attended the two-hour event. Attendees included regional seafood workers, community members-at-large, local community leaders and political and media representatives.
This report summarizes what participants shared during the facilitated sessions, along with take-home messages from the meeting.
Discussion topics included:
- Oysters and condition of the bay
- Water quality
- Bay closure
- Restoration and shelling
- Management
- Regulations
- Workforce development and training
- Enforcement
For more information about the UF Oyster Recovery Team, visit the following link: http://franklin.ifas.ufl.edu/uf-oyster-recovery-team/
