There won't be an oyster season on the Alabama coast this year, an unusual move caused by what state officials say is a lack of oysters.
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - There won't be an oyster season on the Alabama coast this year, an unusual move caused by what state officials say is a lack of oysters.
Al.com reports an official with the state conservation agency announced the decision to seafood harvesters and dealers during a meeting near Mobile.
Oyster seasons have been closed in past years because of disasters like hurricanes or the BP oil spill in 2010. But Marine Resources Division director Scott Bannon says this is the first time there's been no season because of a lack of oysters.
Bannon says a weeklong season last year produced only 136 sacks of oysters, down from 7,000 sacks in 2013.
The move means wild oysters won't be harvested from state waters until at least the fall of 2019.