Fla. oyster industry declared federal disaster; governor says he'll sue Ga. for using too much water

On Monday federal officials declared a fishery disaster for Florida's oyster industry in the Gulf of Mexico, and Tuesday Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott said the state is going to sue Georgia for causing the problem by using too much water from rivers that flow into the gulf. (Tampa Bay Times photo)

"In the last year, the oyster industry has lost 44 percent of its revenues as the oyster population in the Gulf of Mexico has declined an estimated 60 percent," Mary Ellen Klas reports for the Tampa Bay Times. Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson asked the federal government to declare the fisheries disaster a year ago, and Scott made the same request in September. (Read more)

"The collapse of the oyster industry last year came after a drought reduced freshwater flowing into Apalachicola Bay," The Associated Press reports. "But state officials have also blamed the lack of freshwater flow due to increased consumption in Georgia. Alabama, Georgia and Florida have fought for years over the amount of freshwater coming downstream from Georgia to the other states." Last year Florida "obtained a $2.7 million federal grant to pay 200 dislocated oystermen for a project to re-shell the bay in the Florida Panhandle to help it recover and re-open to harvesting." (Read more)

"Florida, Georgia and Alabama have been wrangling for more than 20 years over where Atlanta gets its water, a fight dubbed the Tri-State Water War," Craig Pittman reports for the Times. "To officials in Florida and Alabama, Atlanta is at fault for wasting water and failing to plan for its future. Atlanta officials insist they're now doing more water conservation than anywhere else in the nation, and Florida and Alabama's water demands are unreasonable."

The Apalachicola Bay "produces 90 percent of all of Florida's oysters, and 10 percent of all the oysters consumed in the U.S.," Pittman reports. "Amid court battles, congressional power plays, even a brief bid to move Tennessee's state line to give Georgia even more water, nobody has come up with a compromise that suits everyone. And Georgia's consumption is expected to nearly double by 2035 to 705 million gallons per day." (Read more)