In the October 2013 issue of START’s e-newsletter we published our first article about the problems the Apalachicola Bay oyster industry were experiencing. One of the country’s major estuaries and the cradle of Florida’s prized oyster industry has had its oyster population drastically decline in what some were then calling a budding ecological disaster. Historically, [...]
Apalachicola Bay is located on the Florida Panhandle near the Big Bend. It is one of the country’s major estuaries. Historically, nearly 90% of Florida’s and 10% of the nation’s wild oysters came from Apalachicola Bay. In recent years it has had its oyster population drastically decline in what some have called a budding ecological [...]
It all began back in 2017 when Robert Baugh, General Manager of the Chiles Restaurant Group, suggested that we adopt an oyster recycling program like the one he worked on with restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina. It involved saving oyster shell from restaurant diners and using them to build new oyster reefs in the nearby [...]
START is very pleased to announce that our Gulf Coast Oyster Recycle and Renewal Program (GCORR) has been awarded the Golden Mangrove Award by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. The award is given to the grant recipient who has made the most effective use of the funding by leveraging it among other partners and programs [...]
On August 7th, START’s Chairman, Sandy Gilbert, gave the Manatee County Commission an update on the Gulf Coast Oyster Recycle and Renewal (GCORR) Program that has been underway for the past year. Sandy began by explaining that given the County’s extensive investment in infrastructure over the years including replacing 2/3 of the septic systems along [...]
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill had a negative effect on the coastal habitats of the Gulf of Mexico. Beaches, marshes, oyster reefs, and other habitats were exposed to oil, affecting the plants and wildlife living in those areas. NOAA announced in December of 2016, the availability of up to $7 million for grant funding provided [...]
Thanks to a generous grant from the Manatee Fish & Game Association through their Conservation Fund with the Manatee Community Foundation, START will be able to expand our landmark Gulf Coast Oyster Recycle and Renewal (GCORR) Program. Oysters are a keystone species in our marine environment as active water filterers that play a major role [...]
