TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson introduced that the state will use a $2.9 million federal grant to take away hurricane particles and restore oyster reef habitat close to Cedar Key.
The funding, awarded by the NOAA Marine Particles Program, will help efforts to clear derelict aquaculture gear displaced by storms in the course of the 2023 and 2024 hurricane seasons. The venture may even give attention to reseeding oyster reefs crucial to Cedar Key’s aquaculture business.
“This venture is a crucial step towards serving to Cedar Key’s aquaculture neighborhood get better from back-to-back hurricane seasons whereas additionally strengthening the coastal ecosystem,” Simpson stated in a press release. “By way of this venture, and by turning marine particles right into a useful resource for restoration, we’re defending jobs, rebuilding livelihoods and bettering the resilience of Florida’s shellfish business and meals provide chain.”
The Florida Division of Agriculture and Shopper Companies will lead the hassle in partnership with the College of Florida’s Institute of Meals and Agricultural Sciences and the Cedar Key Aquaculture Affiliation.
Cedar Key, which produces greater than 90% of Florida’s farm-raised clams, suffered an estimated $63 million in losses from the latest hurricanes. Tens of hundreds of clam tradition luggage and different aquaculture gear had been displaced or buried throughout state waters, officers stated.
The venture goals to take away about 40,000 broken clam luggage and different particles from greater than 700 acres of state-owned submerged lands leased for aquaculture. Shell materials and reside oysters recovered from derelict luggage will probably be used to reseed roughly 5 acres of oyster reef habitat.
Along with ecological restoration, the initiative is predicted to supply financial advantages by hiring underemployed clam growers for particles elimination work, creating fast revenue alternatives and supporting greater than 500 jobs tied to the business.
The three-year program may even embody business workshops to enhance hurricane preparedness. Instructional webinars for growers are anticipated to start in December 2025, pending closing approval of the grant work plan.
