Federal Agency Accepting Comments Amid Seafood Fears At Apalachicola Bay
October 16, 2012 | 1 min to read
Amid a loss of seafood in Apalachicola Bay that Gov. Rick Scott has compared to an ecological crisis, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has reopened a public comment period on its operation of federal reservoirs upstream on the Chattahoochee River.
Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been fighting in federal court since 1990 over water from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system. Alabama and Georgia want water for cities, industry and recreation while Florida wants water to support the seafood industry in Apalachicola Bay.
Scott last month asked the U.S. Department of Commerce to declare a fishery resource disaster in Apalachicola Bay because of extended drought conditions and overharvesting of oysters below the legal size limit. Some seafood dealers say shrimp and fish production in the bay also are down.
During a visit with struggling seafood workers last week in Eastpoint, Scott said the focus of the state's efforts is convincing the Corps of Engineers to provide more water to Florida rather than dealing with the other states.
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