• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Storms, Red Tide Punish Franklin County Oyster Beds

Posted on: Thursday, 6 October 2005, 00:00 CDT

By Faith Ford, The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.

Oct. 5--Fresh oysters are few and far between these days. Hurricanes and red tide have shut down beds from Texas to Florida, forcing some local seafood dealers to order from as far as Washington state. "We are sweating it on the oysters right now because there are not any to be found. The only we are getting right now are frozen oysters," said Mack Carter, the owner of Shuckums Oyster Pub and Seafood Grill in Panama City Beach. Franklin County is the state's largest oyster producer. Beds there were wrecked when Hurricane Dennis struck July 10. Some harvesting areas reopened after 10 days, but fishermen had little chance to assess damages before a second disaster washed in from the gulf.

Red tide forced shutdowns again Sept. 2. The algae bloom can contaminate shellfish causing tingling, loss of coordination, hot and cold flashes, and diarrhea when consumed.

State officials said it will be at least another four to six weeks before beds in Apalachicola Bay are reopened.

"This is certainly a low in the oyster industry in the state of Florida right now," said David Heil, a bureau chief for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service's Division of Aquaculture.

Water samples drawn Tuesday showed "extremely high" red tide counts in the bay, Heil said. The water is tested two times a week, and oysters are tested for toxicity about once a week. The shellfish are sent to a St. Petersburg lab where the meat is extracted and residue is injected into a mouse. Toxicity is measured in "mouse units," Heil said.

The most recent tests showed toxin levels in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, well above the below 20 health standard.

"We've got a lot of toxin in the shellfish themselves," Heil said.

The good news for Florida's oyster industry is red tide does not cause permanent damage. Still, beds have not recovered from damage dealt by Dennis and Katrina.

Estimates show a 20-percent loss, but Heil said there is no accurate measurement because oystermen did not have much time to fish after Dennis hit.

"The fishermen that did work them for a couple days before we had to close them down for red tide said that there's resources out there that they could make a living off of," Heil said.

Grady Leavins is one of Franklin County's leading oyster distributors. The owner of Leavins Seafood, he has been in the business for more than 30 years.

Leavins was expecting one truckload of oysters from Texas on Tuesday. With high diesel prices and low oyster supply, he conceded that prices are grossly inflated.

"Right now, it's just a real bad situation," he said.

Heil said beds are open in Texas' Galveston Bay and in select Florida counties, including Bay, Levy and Dixie. Some Franklin County fishermen went to Cedar Key last week to fish beds there, but Leavins said there were so few oysters that it was not worth their while.

"We're sitting right here spending the bank's money," Leavins said of those in the industry. "There's nothing going on. There's nothing. There's no good news."

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is hiring some fishermen to move oysters from areas where they do not grow well to more productive spots.

"It's a good resource development activity, but it also puts money into fishermen's pockets," said Heil, who described the project as limited.

The department also has requested $38 million in federal aid.

"We don't know if any of it's going to be funded at all, and if so, we don't know what programs it will be spent on," Heil said.

Leavins was in Washington, D.C., recently pushing for the aid.

"We have no means of resource, none. Therefore we have no means of making a living now, which is not good," he said. "These guys really need some help."

U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Monticello, said he did not know if or when funding will be secured.

"We're doing just the best we can given the parameters we've got to work in," Boyd said. "We certainly hope we can get something done soon, but I don't know."

The congressman said he would support programs such as the ongoing relay system where oysters are transferred from one area to a more productive location.

If Florida's oyster industry bounces back, Leavins said, it could be an opportunity for the state to step up production. In the past, he said, there have not been enough Florida oysters to meet the demand and most dealers have to supplement with oysters from other states.

"I know the oyster industry very, very well, and I know what it takes to be successful because I have been," Leavins said. "Right now is a very good time for Washington congressmen and our senators to step up to the plate and really put Florida in a very good position for the future in this industry, really make it a sustainable industry here."

-----

To see more of The News Herald -- including its homes, jobs, cars and other classified listings -- or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsherald.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The News Herald

More News in this Category