Fishing St. George Island (Offshore)
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Bald Eagle & Boss oyster
Apalachicola Fl. Franklin Co: 3-5 Oct 2007. 30th Wedding Anniversary wilderness adventure, Will & Michele Platt... our favorite get away, King's bedroom with a view, a very private balcony overlooking the Apalachicola River, boat docks, Bays, Bridges, waterways, Wildlife, fish houses, sunrises, sunsets, islands, fresh fish. We ride the river by wave-runner in search of Bald Eagle's roosts, our link to the people on the other side, and to praise and give glory to the Father, the way, the truth, and the life. Psalms 18:10
Big Cobia 50lbs out of Mashes Sands
A Look Back at the Apalachicola Bay Fisheries Collapse One Year Later - Public Comment 9 05 12
The above is previously unpublished video of the Emergency Meeting called by the Franklin County BOCC on September 5th, 2012 for discussion of the extremely depleted condition of the oyster bars in Apalachicola Bay. This footage documents the Public Comment period after the presentations by the Commissioners, Congressman Steve Southerland (via phone), Mr. Mark Berrigan of DACS, FWC, and others. It is informative to note recommendations and comments of one year ago versus now. At that time, the focus was on urging scientific evaluation of the Bay to determine possible causes. Some were pointing to Tropical Storm Debby, over - harvest, undersized harvest, and even dispersants from the BP oil spill as possible causal factors. DACS portrayed the collapse as sudden, and pointed to lack of freshwater, with DAC's Mark Berrigan declaring that the one thing that would help the Bay would be spring rains. Many others cited historically low river flows from Georgia as the culprit.
Since last September, two studies of the Bay have indicated that too much salinity in the Bay is the problem, bringing with it favorable conditions for oyster predators, disease, and poor reproduction. Poor harvesting practices and oil-spill related causes have been ruled-out by these studies.
It is also interesting to note the changing faces now involved in this ongoing crisis, which as of July 2013 has been declared an official Fisheries Disaster by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Two prominent DACS participants in the above video, Director Leslie Palmer and long-time Apalachicola Bay specialist Mark Berrigan, have moved-on or retired, respectively. In addition, long-time County Commissioner and Oysterman, Bevin Putnal was not re-elected in his bid for office the following November.
In contrast, numerous faces and groups not appearing in the above meeting video have emerged to take prominent roles in managing this crisis as it has unfolded on a local level: Drs. Karl Havens and Andy Kane of the University of Florida's newly-formed Oyster Recovery Team; Kim Bodine of the Gulf Coast Work Force Board; and the then soon-to-be-elected County Commissioner William Massey of the newly-formed SMARRT team, a coalition of Bay harvesting and processing industry stakeholders.
One year later, as mentioned above, both the UF and FWC have issued reports of their study of the readily available information about the conditions of the Bay and probable causes for collapse. FSU is doing ongoing scientific studies. And DACS has done a 180 degree turnaround on their position regarding the viability of oyster aquaculture. Their Division of Aquaculture is now proposing, with UF support, the leasing of 200 acres of Apalachicola Bay Bottom in 2 acre parcels that would include the complete water column above the leases. They are also urging a massive re-shelling operation for the Bay Shellfish Harvesting Areas to improve oyster spat recruitment and growth.
Due to millions of dollars provided by a National Emergency Grant obtained early this year through the State of Florida and the Gulf Coast Workforce Board, the local harvesting community has been able to avail itself of supplement training and educational opportunities while being paid. Oyster harvesting on DACS Shellfish Harvesting Areas has also continued. With the administrative help of the City of Apalachicola, the NEA grant also provided money for a shelling operation by harvesters carried out on the Cat Point and East Hole Shellfish Harvesting areas.
Lastly, as if in an answer to our prayers, we have not yet experienced any Tropical events in 2012, and yet the Bay has received nearly record rainfall and river flows over this past spring and summer. If this widely held notion of what ails our Bay, lack of river flows, holds true, surely we should see some improvement soon.
Because of all the rain, the Summer oyster bars have been closed to harvesting for a total of nearly 6 weeks. Subsequently, the SMARRT stakeholders team requested, and FWC granted, an additional month of harvesting on the Summer bars beyond the usual September 1st closing date. This will give the Winter bars and additional one month of growth before harvesting.
We will truly see, come October 1st, 2013 when those oyster bars open, whether we are any further down the road to Bay recovery than we were in the video recorded above on September 5th, 2012.
Staples to Bull Slough 2014
Eight friends on the Sepulga River, October 1, 2014
BOCC Declares State of Emergency Regarding the Condition of Apalachicola Bay 9-3-12.
Important video message from Franklin County Seafood Workers Association President, Shannon Hartsfield to everyone who harvests, eats, sells, serves, or recreationally catches any kind of seafood from Apalachicola Bay. This was videotaped on September 3, 2012 following a Franklin County Board of Commissioners meeting in which the Board voted to declared a State of Emergency in Franklin County due to the reduced productivity of the Apalachicola Bay for seafood harvesting, and concerns about water quality and the overall health of the Bay. Ninety percent of the oysters harvested in Florida come from this Bay, and according to reports from most quarters, there are no legal sized oysters to catch on the winter harvesting areas as of the opening of the winter season this past weekend. There are also widespread reports of freshly dead oysters, a lack of visible oyster spat on the shells that are harvested, and that the bay shrimp harvest in the Bay has essentially flatlined. AN EMERGENCY MEETING WILL BE HELD ON SEPTEMBER 6th, 2012 at 5:00 pm with Director Leslie Palmer, of Dept. of Agriculture, Consumer Services Aquaculture, and representatives of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. It is hoped that representatives of Florida Department of Environmental Protection will also be on hand to try to figure out, with the input of local harvesters, what is happening that is having such an unprecented, drastically negative effect on productivity in the Bay. Your viewpoint and experiences are helpful and needed. Please plan to attend.
Devils Hole Campground
Leavingthe Devil's Hole Campground in Barrington Tops.
N 2 Deep Divers
Scuba lessons, dive charters, fishing and eco tours in historic Apalachicola, Florida
Forgotten Places: The Forgotten Coast
APPROXIMATELY 40 MILES EAST of Panama City, Florida there exists a special place. Geographically close to other areas of the Florida shoreline known affectionately by some as the “Emerald Coast” (and not so affectionately by others as the “Redneck Riviera”), this area remains separate and distinct. The beaches are not as expansive, the water not as clear, but the natural soul of a state more often bought and sold, remains here. This is Real Florida, as they say. This is the Forgotten Coast.
Discovering this place, I wondered quickly if it could represent something remarkable, a place where the interests of the natural world and development are balanced. Join me as I explore this thesis and this special place, where wildlife, where nature and a simpler way of life still abound.
Along the way I met a dedicated group of people who helped me answer my question. The Florida Wildlife Corridor raises awareness of the need to conserve the most crucial of Florida's natural habitats. They just released a film too, The Forgotten Coast: Return to Wild Florida, documenting an expedition the group undertook in 2015 along the Forgotten Coast, from Central Florida to Alabama. I was able to meet with Maddie Southard, the group's program director, to learn about Wild Florida, the Forgotten Coast, and the Corridor's conservation efforts.
This video is a companion to a blog series of the same name:
The Florida Wildlife Corridor:
The Forgotten Coast, Return to Wild Florida:
The Forgotten Coast, Return to Wild Florida, by Grizzly Creek Films:
Eastern Thought by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Source:
Artist:
Florida Fishcapade (ca. 1964)
Excerpt of original. The film begins with a family in an inboard motorboat leaving a dock on the Homosassa River to go fishing, with the Florida Marine Patrol giving advice and checking safety gear. The family fishes, skies, picnics, goes to Marco Pass and sees college boys fishing. The film also includes footage of Miami; Cape Canaveral, where the family sees a missile tracking ship and a Polaris Submarine; shark fishing; and a diver at Marineland feeding fish. The film's sound is muddy. Produced by Mercury Productions; sponsored by Kiekhaefer Mercury.
To see full-length versions of this and other videos from the State Archives of Florida, visit
Repository: State Library and Archives of Florida, 500 S. Bronough St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250 USA. Contact: 850.245.6700. Archives@dos.state.fl.us
Persistent URL:
Springs and Rivers of Northwest Florida
March, 2019. Wakulla Springs and rivers and springs of Citrus County, Florida.
Dead River Landing park improvements
For more information, go to:
BACKS AGAINST THE WALL - Franklin County Seafood Workers Meeting 9-9-13
An official Declaration of Fisheries Failure has now been made by the US Dept. of Commerce for the Oyster Harvest in Apalachicola Bay and other NW Florida estuaries. However, the local oyster harvesters have been struggling with the uncertainties of little or no means of supporting themselves through their traditional livelihoods for over one year. With prior grant funding for shelling activities expended, and other employment and training programs curtailed, many now feel that their backs are against the wall. Certainly their options seem fewer with every week that passes with no good news about the much-hoped-for signs of oyster bed recovery. Florida Department of Agriculture has historically done condition assessments of the Winter oyster beds in August, in anticipation of the 1st of September opening date for the winter oyster harvest. Though the complete report is not yet released, preliminary findings are not encouraging. It is against that backdrop that Shannon Hartsfield, President of the Seafood Workers Association called for a vote of the membership about requesting that DACS and FWC close a combination of two or three of the most historically productive Winter oyster bars. It is widely felt, and has long been asserted by some, that when DACS calls for a partial closure of the Apalachicola Bay leaving only one or two small areas open to harvesting, it proves detrimental to the bars in the long run. The bars quickly become decimated by the harvesting pressure from hundreds of actively harvesting licensees. There is palpable fear among the harvesters of what the future holds, and it is evident in this footage of the more than 60 members of FCSWA who attended the September 9th meeting. They are torn between harvesting whatever oyster product remains in the Bay and thereby providing for their families in the only way they are trained to do, and doing what they fear they must do to preserve the bay---closing all, or part of it down. For their part, the seafood houses, though not represented in this video, would face major turmoil in their markets if even the current meager supply of Apachicola Bay oysters is disrupted by a Bay closure. Add to this torment that much of the potential funding sources needed to do further restoration activities are conditionally tied to cessation of harvesting activities, a recognized Best Management Practice for oyster restoration. One can see we still have very challenging times ahead for our oyster industry in Franklin County, a very significant portion of our economy.
Port St. Joe Florida Fish Kill (Main Stream Media says Seafood is Safe)((2more LINK posted))
***((( UPDATE 09Aug2010 ))*** @ more fish kills reported.
Port St. Joe, Fla:
Something is wrong in the waters of St. Joe Bay. State biologists, wildlife officers and health officials are trying to determine just what that is.
They responded to a fish kill in Port St. Joe and reports of oil near Cape San Blas in Gulf County on Thursday.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the city's Health Department collected water, air and tissue samples to determine whether the fish kill is a natural occurrence or was caused by oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
A brown sludge covered the water's surface at the city boat ramp at Frank Pate Park. Port St. Joe Mayor Melvin Magidson ordered the ramp closed until testing could be completed.
If this is oil or something that's hazardous to our scallops, we don't want people launching and going out in the head of the bay and spreading what might be a dangerous situation even worse, said Magidson.
County commissioners, US Coast Guardsmen and BP representatives huddled nearby, determining how to respond to the fish kill and reports of possible oil sighted six miles off Cape San Blas.
We want to make sure what this was, said Commissioner Bill Williams. Was it related to the [Deepwater Horizon] incident? Was it red tide? [We] can't answer those questions until the analytical and the scientific approach is brought to bear.
Hundreds of bay creatures—including flounder, sting rays, eels and other fish—washed up on city shores early Thursday morning. Officials said fish kills and red tide blooms are common during the heat of summer, but a report of possible oil nearby is a reason for caution. It is significant there were diversified species there of different size, said Williams.
Vani Rao of BP's Community Outreach said the company's involvement in the Gulf County incident is part of its overall response to the disaster.
The best thing that we can do is plan for whatever happens, attack it immediately, and then make sure that we respond and recover from any gaps that we identify, Rao said.
Rao said vessels searched the area off Cape San Blas late Thursday but found no oil or dead fish -- only a large patch of seaweed.
The fish kill occurred just one day before kickoff of the annual Florida Scallop and Music Festival in Port St. Joe.
Hopefully, people will still be able to go out in the bay and enjoy the scalloping and the fishing, said Tim Kerigan, Executive Director of the Gulf County Tourist Development Council. We're still going to have a wonderful festival no matter what the speculation, or perception or reality may be.
Officials expect it to take several days for the water, air and tissue analyses to be completed.
Read more:
Dead River, Florida
Cruising Dead River
Florida's Forgotten Coast
Scenes from Florida's Forgotten Coast, a relatively quiet, undeveloped section of coastline stretching from Mexico Beach on the Gulf of Mexico to St. Marks on Apalachee Bay in the State of Florida. Filmed with DJI Mavic Pro Drone.
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Dead Lakes Kayaking/ Wewahitchka Tupelo Honey: EcoAdventures North Florida
Nestled between the Apalachicola River and the mysterious Dead Lakes, Wewahitchka is a river town built for water play, and the tupelo honey capitol.
Read more about our tupelo honey production on the WFSU Ecology Blog:
1st Seminole War Fort St. Marks part 2
1st Seminole War Fort St. Marks part 2
A visit to the First Seminole War site, Fort St. Marks, or San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park.
In 1528, the forlorn crew of the Spanish Panfilo de Narvaez expedition found that there was not gold in Florida, but death instead, to most of their 300 men. The survivors built rafts in this area to try and sail back to Spanish Mexico, but were hit by a gale or hurricane.
This fort was first built by the Spanish in 1679 where the Wakulla and St. Marks Rivers meet, to support the Spanish mission chain that was being developed, and as a port and storehouse for supplies from the missions of produce and pelts, sent to Cuba. In 1682 it was looted and burned by pirates. In 1718 the Spanish returned and built a more permanent, and stone fortification. Never really completed, it was turned over to the English in 1764, and once again reoccupied by Spain in 1787.
Adventure and self-styled Chief of the Free State of Muskogee, William Augustus Bowles and his group of pirates and Indians took over and occupied the fort in 1791. At least until Five weeks later when the Spanish war ships arrived and Bowles' allies deserted him.
In 1818, the First Seminole War happened when Andrew Jackson invaded Florida to try and strike a blow against the Seminoles and all who would support them. The war was actually an outgrowth of what Jackson considered unfinished business against the Red Stick Creeks and British from the Creek War and War of 1812. Jackson forced the small garrison at St. Marks to surrender and used the fort as his headquarters, where he hanged two Seminole leaders including the Prophet Josiah Francis. Ironic was that Josiah Francis' daughter, Milly Francis, had saved the life of an American soldier and would receive a congressional medal of honor for the act on her death bed in Oklahoma, thirty years later.
Here at Fort St. Marks, Jackson also ordered a military trial and execution of a British Citizen and Royal Marine Officer, for what he believed was aiding the hostile Seminoles.
Jackson spent the rest of his life trying to defend his actions of an illegal invasion of Spanish territory, and trail and execution of citizens of a third nation. But because of Jackson's invasion, it helped persuade Spain to abandon Florida to the Americans with the Adams-Onis Treaty the next year. In 1821, Spanish Florida became US territory.
The fort was scraped for materials and stone the following years. But in 1857, and military hospital was established at the remains of the fort site. The Confederates occupied the site and used it as a hospital until 1865.
Today the site is San Marcos de Apalahche Historic State Park, operated by the Florida State Parks.
St. George Island (Florida)
St. George Island is an island off the Florida Panhandle in the northern Gulf of Mexico. It is in Franklin County, Florida, United States.
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