The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is considering reopening Apalachicola Bay to commercial and recreational oyster harvesting in 2026, with the commission claiming shellfish abundance has sufficiently recovered.

Despite once being a powerhouse fishery – at one time providing 10 percent of the oysters consumed in the United States – the number of oysters in Apalachicola Bay cratered in 2012. The bay was closed to oyster harvesting in 2020, and regulators have kept it closed since then to allow the population to improve to a healthy level. Now, the FWC believes it has met that bar, and at its August meeting, staff put forward a management framework linking annual harvest levels to oyster abundance, as well as reef recovery.  “We want to be able to get as many boats back in the water as soon as possible while supporting the bay’s continued recovery and sustainability,” FWC Commissioner Preston Farrior said in a release.

The first season under the framework could take place as soon as 1 January 2026, but staff proposed switching to a regular October-February season after that. Commercial harvesters will need to secure a Commercial Apalachicola Bay (AB) Endorsement in order to participate, with the state accepting all qualified applicants in the first year. That participation level would then set a cap for the number of harvesters in subsequent seasons.

“There weren’t but 15 of us left when they closed it down,” Eastpoint, Florida, resident Frances Estes told the FWC, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. “There’s not a bunch of oyster people left, but the ones left want to go to work.”

The FWC plans to hold a final public hearing on the proposal in November.