Apalachicola Bay oyster season to open in October with reduced limits

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials announced the wild oyster harvest season in Apalachicola Bay will open Oct. 1 with a reduced commercial bag limit and fewer available reefs.

The five-month season will run through Feb. 28, 2027, under new rules that lower the commercial harvest limit from 31 bags to 19 bags per oysterman. The recreational limit remains at one bag.

East Hole Reef will be closed for the upcoming season. Three reefs will be open to harvest: Cat Point, Cat Point Spur and Peanut Ridge.

Roger Mathis, an Apalachicola oysterman, said the reduced limit was a disappointment.

“Well, like I said, it kind of broke my heart. Because I figured we had five months, they gave us 31 bags last year, so I said maybe we’ll get 50-60 bags this year, but that... my heart kind of dropped a little bit,” Mathis said.

Mathis said the 19-bag limit would not sustain a full season.

“I was hoping we’d get 50 or 60 bags because you know, last time we only had two months to work, and this time we got five months, but the 19 bags, we outta catch them in two days and be done. So it’s gonna be a short season, it looks like,” Mathis said.

FWC officials said at their commission meeting that the January 2026 season was a success following a five-year closure of Apalachicola Bay. The closure was put in place to allow the oyster population to replenish. Since reopening, more than 4,200 bags were harvested.

During the past season, FWC issued 89 law enforcement warnings and 16 citations. Officials said they took an educational approach, with most warnings related to overbag limits or missing paperwork.

The 127 available recreational permits will be distributed through a lottery later this year.

FWC said it has a $10 million state budget to continue reef restoration on the west side of Apalachicola Bay, with a goal of restoring 2,000 acres of the bay by 2032.

If you would like to read more on FWC’s report, click here.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WJHG on Facebook, Instagram and X (Twitter).

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Email news@wjhg.com. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

Keep up with all the biggest headlines on the WJHG News app, and check out what’s happening outside using the WJHG Weather app.