Guide
Oysters and clams: the harvest areas and FWC’s rules
Checked October 4, 2026 against FDACS’s daily status pages for the Western, Central, Big Bend and Southern Gulf, its classification maps, and FWC’s oyster and clam rules; the Atlantic page the same day.
Two agencies decide whether you may take oysters or clams on Florida’s coast. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) opens and closes each shellfish harvest area, for every shellfish at once, when rain, the rivers or an algae bloom make the water unsafe. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) sets the oyster season and the limits, and keeps Apalachicola Bay’s wild oysters for permit holders. The tile puts the two together for the harvest areas nearest your town.
Only an open harvest area may be worked. Water that FDACS has not classified Approved or Conditionally Approved is closed to all shellfish harvest, all year.
A closure takes effect at sunset, a reopening at sunrise. Call the field office before you go: Panama City, 850-236-2200, from Pensacola Bay to East Bay; Apalachicola, 850-653-8317, from St. Joseph Bay to Wakulla; Cedar Key, 352-543-5181, from Horseshoe Beach to Citrus County; Port Charlotte, 941-613-0954, from Boca Ciega Bay to the Ten Thousand Islands; Melbourne, 321-984-4890, on the Atlantic from Duval County to Fort Pierce Inlet.
What the tile shows
FDACS publishes a table each time a status changes, one page for each stretch: the Western Gulf (Pensacola Bay to East Bay in Bay County), the Central Gulf (St. Joseph Bay to Wakulla County), the Big Bend Gulf (Horseshoe Beach in Dixie County to Citrus County) and the Southern Gulf (Boca Ciega Bay in Pinellas County to the Ten Thousand Islands in Collier County), and one for the Atlantic (Duval County to Fort Pierce Inlet). FDACS classifies no harvest water south of Fort Pierce Inlet, so the Gold Coast and Keys boards have no shellfish tile. Each board reads the pages for its own water. For each harvest area it gives a four-digit number, the classification, the status, the date of that status and the reason. The tile answers in one word:
- Open: FDACS lists the nearest harvest areas open. Partly open means some are open and some are closed.
- Closed: none of them is open. The tile says why, in FDACS’s words: on October 2, 2026, St. Joseph Bay had been closed since August 15 for Pyrodinium bahamense, an algae bloom that can make shellfish toxic. On the Southern Gulf page a closure for red tide reads “Precautionary HAB”, a harmful algal bloom.
- Clams only: FWC closes wild oyster harvest from July 1 to September 30, and in Wakulla, Dixie and Levy counties from June 1 to the end of August. An area FDACS lists open in those months is open for clams and leases only, as FDACS’s own page says.
- Permit only: Apalachicola Bay. See below.
- Check: the page no longer lists an area the tile expects, or uses a status word it does not know. The tile never guesses either way.
Some areas are classified for part of the year only, such as Indian Lagoon’s winter zones (November to February), Apalachicola Bay’s summer areas (May to September), Ochlockonee Bay (October to June), the Wakulla County zones (September to May), Suwannee Sound’s two (February to May and September; October to January), Citrus County’s two (March to June and October; November to February) and, on the Indian River in Brevard County, Body C’s (March to November in two zones, December to February in a third). Out of their months they show as out of season. “Leases only” is an area open to aquaculture leases, not to the public.
Apalachicola Bay
FWC closed Apalachicola Bay’s public oyster bars on July 31, 2020, and since then has opened them only to permit holders, a season at a time. For the season from October 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027, wild oysters there may be taken only by permit holders, on three reefs FWC names: RESTORE Peanut Ridge, RESTORE Cat Point Spur and NFWF Cat Point.
- Recreational: an Apalachicola Bay Recreational Opportunity (ABRO) permit, given by lottery to Florida residents; harvest on Saturday and Sunday. The application period closed on July 31, 2026.
- Commercial: an Apalachicola Bay (AB) endorsement; harvest Monday to Friday.
FWC’s Apalachicola Bay takes in St. George Sound, East Bay, St. Vincent Sound and Indian Lagoon. FDACS may still close the area a reef is in, after rain, high river levels or an algae bloom. After February 28, 2027 the tile says Check for the Apalachicola towns until FWC’s next season is read.
Which areas are your town’s
Each town is given the harvest areas nearest it, measured on FDACS’s own map, with those within about five miles more. Several towns have no harvest area on their own shore: the tile then shows the nearest ones, and says so by naming the water. Only Approved and Conditionally Approved areas are listed, because restricted and prohibited water never opens.
Pensacola to Mexico Beach
| Towns | Harvest areas |
|---|---|
| Perdido Key | 0111 Big Lagoon |
| Pensacola, Pensacola Beach, Gulf Breeze | 0222 Escambia Bay, 0232 East Bay |
| Navarre | 0232 East Bay |
| Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island, Destin, Niceville | 0622 Choctawhatchee Bay, central |
| Freeport, Santa Rosa Beach, Grayton Beach | 0622 and 0632 Choctawhatchee Bay, central and eastern |
| Rosemary Beach | 0632 Choctawhatchee Bay, eastern; 0822 West Bay |
| Panama City Beach | 0822 West Bay, 1012 North Bay |
| Panama City | 0822 West Bay, 1012 and 1022 North Bay, 1212 East Bay |
| Lynn Haven | 1012 and 1022 North Bay |
| Mexico Beach | 1401 St. Joseph Bay, 1212 East Bay |
The Forgotten Coast and the Big Bend
| Towns | Harvest areas |
|---|---|
| Port St. Joe, Cape San Blas | 1401 St. Joseph Bay; 1512, 1542 and 1552 Indian Lagoon |
| Apalachicola, Eastpoint, St. George Island | Apalachicola Bay, 1601 to 1672 |
| Carrabelle | 1601 St. George Sound, 1801 Alligator Harbor |
| Alligator Point | 1801 Alligator Harbor, 2002 Ochlockonee Bay |
| St. Marks, Shell Point | 2222 and 2212 Wakulla County, zones 2 and 1 |
| Panacea | 2222 and 2212 Wakulla County; 2002 Ochlockonee Bay |
| Steinhatchee | 2502 Horseshoe Beach, 12 miles down the coast |
| Horseshoe Beach | 2502 Horseshoe Beach |
| Suwannee | 2802 and 2812 Suwannee Sound; 2502 Horseshoe Beach |
The Nature Coast
| Towns | Harvest areas |
|---|---|
| Cedar Key | 3001 Cedar Key; 3012 and 3022 Cedar Key, zones A and B |
| Yankeetown | 3402 Withlacoochee Bay, 3202 Waccasassa Bay |
| Crystal River | 3701 and 3702 Citrus County; 3402 Withlacoochee Bay |
| Homosassa | 3701 and 3702 Citrus County |
Tampa Bay to Collier County
| Towns | Harvest areas |
|---|---|
| Madeira Beach, Treasure Island | 4202 Boca Ciega Bay |
| St. Pete Beach, Gulfport, St. Petersburg | 4202 Boca Ciega Bay, 4802 Lower Tampa Bay |
| Apollo Beach, Ruskin | 4802 Lower Tampa Bay |
| Palmetto, Bradenton, Holmes Beach | 4802 Lower Tampa Bay, 5402 Sarasota Bay |
| Anna Maria | 4802 Lower Tampa Bay, 4202 Boca Ciega Bay, 5402 Sarasota Bay |
| Longboat Key, Sarasota, Siesta Key | 5402 Sarasota Bay |
| Venice, Englewood | 5602 Lemon Bay |
| Port Charlotte | 6002 Myakka River |
| Punta Gorda | 6002 Myakka River, 5802 Gasparilla Sound |
| Placida | 5802 Gasparilla Sound, 5602 Lemon Bay |
| Boca Grande | 5802 Gasparilla Sound, 6212 Pine Island Section 1 |
| Bokeelia | 6222 Pine Island Section 2 (North Matlacha Pass), 5802 Gasparilla Sound, 6212 Pine Island Section 1 |
| Matlacha, Cape Coral, Fort Myers | 6232 and 6222 Pine Island Sections 3 and 2 (Matlacha Pass) |
| Captiva | 6212 Pine Island Section 1 |
| Sanibel | 6212 Pine Island Section 1, 6232 Pine Island Section 3 |
| Fort Myers Beach | 6232 Pine Island Section 3 (South Matlacha Pass) |
| Marco Island, Goodland, Everglades City, Chokoloskee | 6602 Ten Thousand Islands |
The Atlantic: Duval County to Fort Pierce
FDACS names the Indian River’s areas in Brevard County by water body, A to F, north to south.
| Towns | Harvest areas |
|---|---|
| Mayport, Jacksonville, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach | 9602 Duval County |
| Ponte Vedra Beach | 9602 Duval County, 9202 North St. Johns |
| Vilano Beach, St. Augustine | 9202 North St. Johns |
| St. Augustine Beach | 9202 North St. Johns, 8802 South St. Johns |
| Crescent Beach | 8802 South St. Johns |
| Port Orange, Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater | 8212 South Volusia Zone 1, 8222 South Volusia Zone 2 |
| Oak Hill | 8212 South Volusia Zone 1, 8222 South Volusia Zone 2, 8201 South Volusia, 8001 Body A |
| Titusville | 7812 Body B, 8001 Body A |
| Merritt Island | 7812 Body B, 7712 Body C Zone 1, March to November, 7722 Body C Zone 2, March to November, 7732 Body C, December to February, 7902 South Banana River |
| Cape Canaveral | 7902 South Banana River |
| Cocoa, Rockledge | 7712 Body C Zone 1, March to November, 7722 Body C Zone 2, March to November, 7732 Body C, December to February, 7602 Body D, 7902 South Banana River |
| Cocoa Beach | 7902 South Banana River, 7602 Body D |
| Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach | 7602 Body D, 7902 South Banana River |
| Indialantic, Melbourne Beach | 7412 Body F, 7602 Body D |
| Melbourne | 7602 Body D, 7412 Body F |
| Palm Bay | 7412 Body F |
| Sebastian | 7202 North Indian River, 7412 Body F |
| Vero Beach | 7001 Indian River/St. Lucie, 7202 North Indian River |
| Fort Pierce | 7001 Indian River/St. Lucie |
Towns with no harvest area
A town whose nearest open-able area is more than about fifteen miles off has no shellfish tile at all: Keaton Beach (Horseshoe Beach is 23 miles down the coast), Hernando Beach, Hudson, Port Richey and New Port Richey (FDACS classifies no harvest water in Hernando and Pasco counties), Tarpon Springs, Dunedin, Clearwater, Clearwater Beach and Indian Rocks Beach (nor in north Pinellas), Tampa (Lower Tampa Bay is 22 miles), Bonita Springs (Matlacha Pass is 20 miles) and Naples (the Ten Thousand Islands are 18 miles). On the Atlantic: Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach and Daytona Beach Shores (Mosquito Lagoon is 15 to 24 miles south), and Port St. Lucie (17 miles from the Indian River area at Fort Pierce). Fernandina Beach, Palm Coast and Flagler Beach have none either: FDACS classifies no water in Nassau or Flagler County, and the nearest areas are across the county line. And none from Fort Pierce Inlet south: Jensen Beach, Stuart, Port Salerno and Hobe Sound, and every town on the Gold Coast and in the Keys. Water near them that FDACS has not classified is closed to all shellfish harvest.
FWC’s limits, outside Apalachicola Bay
- Oysters: closed July 1 to September 30; in Wakulla, Dixie and Levy counties, closed June 1 to August 31 by FWC’s page (FDACS’s status pages say August 30, and the tile goes by FDACS’s). Two bags per person or per vessel, whichever is less, a day; a bag is two 5-gallon buckets, one 10-gallon bucket or 60 pounds. At least 3 inches. By hand or tongs only, culled where you took them.
- Hard clams: open all year. 5 gallons per person and 10 gallons per vessel a day, at least 1 inch thick across the hinge.
- A saltwater fishing license, unless you are exempt.
What it cannot tell you
The tile cannot tell you whether a particular reef has legal oysters on it, or where an area’s lines run on the water. FDACS’s classification maps show the lines. Raw or undercooked shellfish can carry Vibrio in any open area, most of all in warm months.
Sources
- FDACS, daily status of the Western Gulf harvest areas — Pensacola Bay to East Bay in Bay County
- FDACS, daily status of the Central Gulf harvest areas — St. Joseph Bay to Wakulla County
- FDACS, daily status of the Big Bend Gulf harvest areas — Horseshoe Beach to Citrus County
- FDACS, daily status of the Southern Gulf harvest areas — Boca Ciega Bay to the Ten Thousand Islands
- FDACS, daily status of the Atlantic harvest areas — Duval County to Fort Pierce Inlet
- FDACS, shellfish harvesting area information — the classification maps
- FWC, oysters and clams — the season, the limits and Apalachicola Bay’s permits