Tag Archives: Franklin County Seafood Workers Association

Supreme Court – Oystermen bemoan ‘disgraceful’ water wars decision

Shannon Hartsfield, a fourth-generation oysterman, fears debilitating drought in years to come after the Supreme Court yesterday found that Florida failed to show Georgia is cutting off south-flowing water. Hartsfield’s livelihood is in Apalachicola Bay, an estuary and lagoon along the Florida Panhandle that once hosted up to 400 bustling fishing boats. It is now closed to allow wild oyster reefs to regenerate after suffering through historically dry conditions in recent years that have slowed the inflows feeding the bay. Hartsfield, head of the Franklin County Seafood Workers Association, claims Georgia is also to blame for not allowing fresh water to flow down two rivers, past Atlanta’s suburbs and to the Gulf of Mexico. The Supreme Court disagreed. >click to read< 09:35

Florida oysters in crisis: ‘Our industry needs to be shut down,’ Apalachicola seafood rep says

Things in the bay have gotten so bad, oyster fishermen can barely pull out enough oysters to pay for the gas their boats use, said Shannon Hartsfield, president of the Franklin County Seafood Workers Association. “Our industry needs to be shut down,” When reached by phone, Hartsfield stood by those remarks and said that while his members are afraid of the consequences of closing the fishery, they know something has to change. Read the rest here  12:24

FWC asked to help save oyster industry APALACHICOLA

“If we don’t get something done in the next one-and-a-half years, we’re not going to have a bay,” said Shannon Hartsfield, a fourth-generation oysterman who serves as president of the Franklin County Seafood Workers Association.

http://www.newsherald.com/news/fwc-asked-to-help-save-oyster-industry-1.60900