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Apalachicola Residents React to Proposed Oyster Ban
10/23/09 - 05:56 PM

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Thousands of jobs are at stake and an entire seafood industry’s fate is in question after the Food and Drug Administration announces proposed regulations for raw oysters.

The ban could have a dramatic impart on coastal towns whose economy depends on the oyster industry.

The proposal could ban the sale of live, in-the-shell oysters for as long as eight months out of the year. The FDA says they’re doing this to prevent cases of a dangerous bacteria associated with raw oysters.

However, some people say it could completely shut down the industry.

Apalachicola residents are in disbelief over the proposal. Oystermen say the shellfish isn’t just a food, it’s a way of life. They say if the ban goes through, thousands of jobs, if not more, are at stake.

“Literally there’s probably several thousand people that depend on this company alone to employ people so the trickle down effect will be enormous,” says Grady Leavins of Leavins Seafood, Inc. He says although some people are sickened by the vibrio vulnificus bacteria in oysters each year, “You could argue that many more people get ill from eating eggs, and they do. From eating peanuts, and they do.”

The proposal would require that oysters go through a post harvest process to freeze and kill the bacteria.

But Leavins says many customers don’t like the taste after PHP or the cost. He says PHP could double or triple the cost of oysters.

Residents say the collapse of the oyster industry could mean disaster for many fishing towns.

You’re just about going to put this town, East Point and Carrabelle off the map, out of business.

If the proposal to ban raw oysters passes, it would take effect in late spring of 2011 and will affect shellfish companies from Florida to Texas.