Apalachicola Bay: A Thing of the Past, and Who Cares?

Let’s start with a quick lesson in estuaries. These are places where rivers pour fresh water into salt water inlets of some kind, making a place where the salinity is variable from pure salt water to pure fresh water. So What? This leads to many different micro ecosystems where many different kinds of sea life can breed and grow. Including oysters.

Oysters need water that is not salt and not fresh, in other words a blend of the two kinds. They have very specific salinity requirements, and any variation will lead to poor growth or no reproduction. They also need the nutrients supplied by rivers moving decaying organic matter into the estuary.

A Dying Breed: The Oysterman

Until 30 or so years ago, Apalachicola Bay was considered one of the most productive bays in the world. It had been said that it would be impossible to fish out the bay. And this may have been practically true. Then enter the dual events of a declining rain production in the watershed for the bay, and the unencumbered growth of Atlanta and their policy of not regulating water usage. As a result of these factors and a few others, fresh water flow into the bay has been reduced, and today the oyster industry is in near collapse. The Feds are considering closing the bay for oyster harvest to “allow stocks to rebuild”. Not good enough Feds. Not nearly good enough. That is treating the symptom and not the cause.

The answer to restoring the productivity of the bay is to increase the flow of fresh water to pre-collapse levels. Then the bay will take care of itself. But in my humble opinion, the solution will not be achieved, or even considered. Atlanta continues to grow, and yes, they have begun to implement some minor water conservation schemes. However, the continued growth exceeds the savings from conservation so the deficit in water flow continues to grow. And let’s not forget Alabama. They also need water from the water shed, and they want to grow.

The bottom line? The Bay is Screwed. Period.  If you want to enjoy some really good Apalachicola Bay oysters, you better get them this year. Because this may be the last year for many years to come when the wonderful bivalves are available.

Image: http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2005/03/Apalachicola.jpg ; http://floridamemory.com/fpc/folklife/fs88727.jpg