The curious case of eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica stock status in Apalachicola Bay, Florida

Pine, William E.; Walters, Carl J.; Camp, Edward V.; Bouchillon, Rachel; Ahrens, Robert; Sturmer, Leslie; Berrigan, Mark E.

doi:10.5751/es-07827-200346

Cited by 40 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Oyster harvests and oyster fishing effort (number of trips) from Apalachicola Bay were above recent averages during this same time (Pine et al 2015). In fall 2012, there was a sudden collapse in the Apalachicola Bay oyster fishery as harvestable oyster populations appeared to be very low.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…To promote oyster population viability, resource managers have historically purchased shell material from other locations and deposited this shell on oyster bars open to fishing to recover lost habitat and attempt to rebalance the shell budget. The frequency and amount of "shelling" that is conducted in Apalachicola Bay is variable and dependent on funding and shell material availability (Pine et al 2015).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This initially led to increases in oyster prices and harvests to make up for shortages of oyster product in the supply chain. Harvests also increased (Pine et al 2015) possibly because of local concerns that livelihoods could be restricted by fishery closures that might occur related to the oil spill (as reported by local fishermen). By summer 2011, consumer fears about seafood safety from the Gulf of Mexico related to the oil spill led to large declines in seafood demand and ultimately resulted in layoffs in the regional oyster and other commercial fisheries industry, though not a cessation of oyster harvest in Apalachicola Bay (McCrea-Strub et al 2011, Sumaila et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Apalachicola Bay supports an economically important oyster fishery known for its high quality product that historically has accounted for 90% of oysters sold in Florida and over 10% of oysters sold in the continental USA (USACE 1998). The Apalachicola River has a history of drought and flood, and the bay has a contemporaneous history of wax and wane of its oyster population (Wilber 1992, Livingston et al 1997, Livingston 2015, Pine et al 2015. Apalachicola Bay oysters and the oyster fishery have also experienced negative impacts from tropical storms that may alter habitat (Berrigan 1988), increased predator abundance and disease occurrence during drought (Menzel et al 1966, Petes et al 2012, and fluctuations in market demand.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Apalachicola Bay oysters and the oyster fishery have also experienced negative impacts from tropical storms that may alter habitat (Berrigan 1988), increased predator abundance and disease occurrence during drought (Menzel et al 1966, Petes et al 2012, and fluctuations in market demand. All of these factors can and have led to temporally variable oyster abundance and harvests (Pine et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Collapse of a historic oyster fishery: diagnosing causes and identifying paths toward increased resilience

Camp¹,

Pine²,

Havens³

et al. 2015

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Diagnosing causal factors of change at the ecosystem level is challenging because multiple drivers often interact at various spatial and temporal scales. We employ an integrated natural and social science approach to assess potential mechanisms leading to the collapse of an estuarine social-ecological system, and recommend future paths to increased system resilience. Our case study is the collapse of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) fishery in Apalachicola Bay, Florida, USA, and the associated impacts on local resource dependent communities. The oyster fishery collapse is the most recent in a series of environmental stressors to this region, which have included hurricanes and tropical storms, drought, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. We found it likely that the oyster collapse was not related to contamination from the recent oil spill, but rather to factors affecting oyster recruitment and survival, which may have been mediated by both human, e.g., fishing-related habitat alteration, and environmental, e.g., increased natural mortality from predators and disease, factors. The relative impact of each of these factors is likely to increase in the future because of changing climate and increased demand for fishery, water, and petroleum resources. Successful restoration and persistence of a viable oyster fishery will depend on: (1) implementation of some minimal best management practices, e.g., extensive habitat restoration via shell addition, and some spatial closures to harvest, (2) improving environmental knowledge and promoting episodic learning through enhanced monitoring and experimental management, and (3) continued community engagement necessary to produce adaptable governance suitable to responding to future unexpected challenges.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Collapse of a historic oyster fishery: diagnosing causes and identifying paths toward increased resilience

Camp¹,

Pine²,

Havens³

et al. 2015

E&S

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Unexpected stability in faunal population abundances following an estuary‐wide collapse of oysters

Love,

Siders,

Gandy

et al. 2024

Ecosphere

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Live oyster reefs are considered a critical recruitment habitat for estuarine faunal populations as localized in situ or mesocosm studies have demonstrated many faunal species prefer live oyster habitat. It has therefore been assumed that the loss of live oyster habitat would precipitate faunal population declines, but this has been largely untested at large (estuary) scales. Here, we assessed how estuary‐wide faunal populations were affected by a 95% loss of live oyster habitat following the 2012 oyster collapse of Apalachicola Bay, FL, which previously supported one of the largest oyster fisheries in the United States. We standardized long‐term fisheries‐independent monitoring seine and trawl data to create relative indices of resident, associated, and transient faunal species' overall abundance and recruit abundance (restrictive to sizes between 15% and 35% of ). We expected that both relative abundance indices would decrease following the oyster collapse, particularly among species that reside on or recruit to oyster reefs. However, analyses via a series of one‐sided Bayesian t tests did not indicate that faunal recruitment or overall abundance significantly declined in 2012 post‐collapse. As the response of the faunal population could be lagged relative to the 2012 collapse, we also conducted change point analyses to search for lagged declines. Of the 24 relative abundance time series, only two had significant change points post‐collapse, and only black sea bass overall relative abundance declined with an associated change point at the end of the time series. The surprising paucity of faunal decline following oyster loss may be due to the use of alternative habitat types, exceptionally lagged faunal responses, or, perhaps most compelling, a disconnect between preferred and required habitats. Our failure to detect faunal consequences following an oyster population collapse suggests that assumptions of habitat loss (or restoration) effects on estuarine fauna at ecosystem scales are not straightforward and the extrapolation of sub‐estuary‐scale studies may result in poor predictions of future outcomes.

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Trends in Oyster Populations in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico: An Assessment of River Discharge and Fishing Effects over Time and Space

et al. 2020

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Within the Big Bend region of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, one of the least developed coastlines in the continental USA, intertidal and subtidal populations of eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica (hereafter referred to as "oyster") are a critical ecosystem and important economic constituent. We assessed trends in intertidal oyster populations, river discharge, and commercial fishing activity in the Suwannee River estuary within the Big Bend region using fisheries-independent data from irregular monitoring efforts and publicly available environmental data. We used generalized linear models to evaluate counts of oysters from line-transect surveys over time and space. We assessed model performance using simulation to understand potential bias and then evaluated whether these counts were related to freshwater inputs from the Suwannee River and commercial oyster fishing effort and landings at different time lags. We found that intertidal oyster counts have declined over time and that most of these declines are found in inshore intertidal oyster bars, which are becoming degraded. We also found a significant relationship between oyster counts and a 1-year lag on mean daily Suwannee River discharge, but including commercial fishery trips or landings did not improve model fit. It is unclear whether declines in intertidal oyster bars are offset by formation of new oyster reefs elsewhere. These results quantify rapid declines in intertidal oyster reefs in a region of coastline with high conservation value that can be used to inform ongoing and proposed restoration projects in the region.

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The curious case of eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica stock status in Apalachicola Bay, Florida

Cited by 40 publications

References 3 publications

Collapse of a historic oyster fishery: diagnosing causes and identifying paths toward increased resilience

Collapse of a historic oyster fishery: diagnosing causes and identifying paths toward increased resilience

Unexpected stability in faunal population abundances following an estuary‐wide collapse of oysters

Trends in Oyster Populations in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico: An Assessment of River Discharge and Fishing Effects over Time and Space

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