| To those of us who've spent early evenings | | | | and women, who have been oystering for |
| mesmerized by astoundingly beautiful purple and gold | | | | generations, now find that the once large hauls of |
| sunsets over Apalachicola Bay in Northwest Florida, | | | | oysters are getting smaller each year. While it's hard |
| the drought in Georgia and Alabama is becoming a | | | | work for the oystermen, or tongers, as they're called |
| personal matter. Even though I live 400 miles from | | | | in Apalachicola, it's a very picturesque scene to see |
| this blissful bay between Apalachicola and St. George | | | | the oyster skiffs on a mirror flat bay, bringing up |
| Island, I dream that some day I'll be a resident of the | | | | oysters as they've done for years. |
| area and fish to my heart's content! I hope the bay | | | | The reason for the alarm is the drought farther north |
| will continue to be the wonderful place it now. | | | | in Georgia. Television news has told us that Atlanta's |
| While attending the annual Oyster Spat Festival on | | | | main source of water, Lake Lanier, is drying up. Some |
| St. George Island in the early part of October, I | | | | say that they have less than 90 days before the |
| learned what a spat was and the trouble Apalachicola | | | | lake is emptied of useable water. The situation is so |
| oysters were facing due to water shortages in | | | | desperate the Governor held a prayer meeting for |
| Georgia. I also learned that in addition to killing my | | | | rain. Prayer! What a concept! |
| grass at home in Alabama, the drought was | | | | The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, who control the |
| responsible for the Apalachicola River not pouring | | | | amount of water sent down the river from Georgia, |
| enough fresh water into Apalachicola Bay! | | | | has recommended to Washington to reduce the |
| After a little investigation I learned that a spat is | | | | amount of water allowed to flow downstream to |
| actually a baby oyster; a fact I never knew. I'd | | | | Apalachicola, leaving more water for those folks in |
| never really given the subject of how oysters | | | | Atlanta. That's a scary proposition for oysters! |
| reproduce a lot of thought! A female oyster or a | | | | The great debate of course is whether the people |
| male oyster, depending on the salinity and | | | | of Atlanta need fresh water more than the oysters |
| temperature of the water can produce over 100,000 | | | | of Apalachicola Bay. Without enough fresh water in |
| eggs. | | | | the bay, grass beds also dry up, thereby eliminating |
| The eggs that don't get eaten by small fish or other | | | | safe breeding grounds for all manner of fish, including |
| predators can drift up to two weeks in a great white | | | | grouper, snapper, redfish and many other hatchlings. |
| cloud until settling to the bottom of the bay and | | | | All this means less fish for the region in years to |
| cementing themselves to any solid surface as a tiny | | | | come. Let's not forget the mussel and sturgeon of |
| oyster, called spats. | | | | the bay, which are on the endangered species lists. |
| The Apalachicola River, which is fed by the | | | | The drought is severe! It not only affects the |
| Chattahoochee River in Georgia, provides fresh | | | | residents of Georgia and Alabama, by allowing the |
| water to the Bay, breaking down the salinity of the | | | | reduction in water flow of the Apalachicola River, but |
| salt water. The result is a paradise for oysters, | | | | it could wipe out the oyster industry and destroy a |
| scallops and other marine life. Now that river is | | | | beautiful and pristine body of water. |
| providing less fresh water each year, with more and | | | | The ecology of the bay area is changing at an |
| more oysters being found dead in their shell. | | | | alarming rate. I like people, but I love oysters too! |
| Apalachicola Bay is a fertile and friendly body of | | | | Maybe Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue is on to |
| water and a workplace for hundreds of residents of | | | | something! There might be something to this prayer |
| the area. An estimated 10 percent of the nation's | | | | thing! |
| oysters are supplied by the Apalachicola area. Men | | | | |