April 23, 2019
By Georgia Ackerman
Today, I joined Shannon Hartsfield during his morning rounds to oysters bars in Apalachicola Bay. We met under the bridge at St. George Island where he launches his oyster boat. Shannon conducts water quality monitoring tests at three oyster bars, Dry Bar, Hotel Bar and Bulkhead Bar, as part of on-going research by the University of Florida in partnership with FWC, FDACS, and Sea Grant Florida. Shannon also serves as head of the Seafood Management Assistance Resource and Recovery Team and the Franklin County’s Seafood Workers Association.
This oyster restoration research is in its fourth year of five was designed to find the best shelling density for restoring oyster reefs. The research team provides regular reports to the community. The Winter 2019 update on the health of the oysters sampled, can be found here. Overall, according to the update, a diminished oyster population continues in the Apalachicola Bay.
 Georgia Ackerman is the Riverkeeper and Executive Director at Apalachicola Riverkeeper.