Oysters and clams
Allowable shellfish (oysters, clams) harvesting areas are established and managed for public health purposes by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture. Shellfish harvesting areas are opened and closed in accordance with the National Shellfish Sanitation Program Guidelines, and the open or closed status applies to both recreational and commercial harvest.
All harvest prohibited when shellfish harvesting areas are in the closed status as determined by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
You may view maps of these areas and determine the open or closed status at: https://www.fdacs.gov/Agriculture-Industry/Aquaculture/Shellfish-Harvesting-Area-Classification or Shellfish Harvest Areas Map
If using the Shellfish Harvest Areas Map, be sure to click on your area below for daily status updates:
- Western Gulf: from Pensacola Bay in Escambia County to East Bay in Bay County
- Central Gulf: from St. Joseph Bay in Gulf County to Wakulla County
- Big Bend Gulf: from Horseshoe Beach in Dixie County to Citrus County
- Southern Gulf: from Boca Ciega Bay in Pinellas County to Ten Thousand Islands in Collier County
- Atlantic Coast: from the Fort Pierce Inlet in St. Lucie County to the Tolomato River in St. Johns County
For additional information call 850-617-7600.
License Requirements
- Recreational Saltwater Fishing License, unless exempt
- Apalachicola Bay Recreational Opportunity (ABRO) Permit
To apply for the ABRO Permit, go to GoOutdoorsFlorida.com. For the Jan. 1 – Feb. 28, 2026, season, applications will be accepted from Nov. 10 – Dec. 16, 2026. For future seasons, applications will be accepted from July 15 – 31 each year.
To qualify for an ABRO permit, harvesters must be a Florida resident and have a Recreational Saltwater Fishing License.
Applicants can rank their preferred harvest reef during the application process.
ABRO Permits and harvest reefs will be selected through a lottery.
For the Jan. 1 – Feb. 28, 2026, season:
- There are 245 ABRO permits available.
- Selected ABRO Permit holders must claim their permit package in person beginning Dec. 22, 2025, at the FWC Law Enforcement Office (287 Graham Drive, Carrabelle, FL, 32322).
Bag Limit & Tags
ABRO Permit holders will be given one harvest bag tag for a specific reef at the beginning of the season. A harvest bag tag can be used for up to one bag. One bag is equal to two 5-gallon buckets, one 10-gallon bucket, or 60 pounds.
For the Jan. 1 – Feb. 28, 2026, season: ABRO Permit holders must claim their harvest tags in person beginning Dec. 22, 2025, at the FWC Law Enforcement Office (287 Graham Drive, Carrabelle, FL, 32322).
Reefs Open for Harvest
FWC will announce the reefs open to harvest each season. To be open, a reef must meet the established ecological threshold of 400 bags of legal-sized oysters per acre.
The reefs that meet the threshold and will be open to harvest for the Jan. 1 – Feb. 28, 2026, season are RESTORE Peanut Ridge, RESTORE Cat Point Spur, RESTORE Easthole, and NFWF Cat Point.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) may temporarily close the Shellfish Harvesting Area in which FWC’s open reefs are located due to a variety of reasons, including rainfall, higher river levels, and harmful algal blooms. To view the current status of Shellfish Harvesting Areas, visit the FDACS Shellfish Harvesting Area Information webpage.
Annual Harvest Levels
Each season, FWC will announce the annual harvest level for open reefs prior to the start of the season. The annual harvest level will be evenly distributed between AB Endorsement holders.
For the Jan. 1 – Feb. 28, 2026, season, the annual harvest level for commercial harvest on each open reef will be:
- NFWF Cat Point – 52 bags
- RESTORE Cat Point Spur – 24 bags
- RESTORE Easthole – 115 bags
- RESORE Peanut Ridge – 54 bags
One bag is equal to two 5-gallon buckets, one 10-gallon bucket, or 60 pounds.
Season and Days
- Open Season: Jan. 1, 2026 – Feb. 28, 2026
- Harvest Days: Saturday – Sunday
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) may temporarily close Shellfish Harvesting Areas during the open season due to a variety of reasons, including rainfall, higher river levels, and harmful algal blooms. To view the current status of Shellfish Harvesting Areas, visit the FDACS Shellfish Harvesting Area Information webpage.
Reporting Requirements
ABRO Permit holders must use the FWC Oyster Harvest App to report the following for their harvest trips:
- Hail out when trip begins.
- Harvest location for each bag tag used.
- Hail in when trip ends.
Mandatory Landing Locations
Harvesters must land their product at one of the approved Certified Shellfish Processors, Boat Ramps, or Marinas listed below:
Certified Processors
- Barber’s Seafood (510 US Highway 98, Eastpoint, FL 32328)
- Leavins Seafood Inc. (101 Water St, Apalachicola, FL 32320)
- Leavins Seafood Too (100 Water St, Apalachicola, FL 32320)
- Water Street Seafood (592 West Highway 98, Apalachicola, FL 32320)
- Two Mile Seafood (610 Highway 98 West, Apalachicola, FL 32320)
Boat Ramps and Marinas
- Eastpoint Landing/Patton Drive (340 Patton Drive, Eastpoint, FL 32328)
- Indian Creek North Bayshore Drive (93 North Bayshore Drive, Eastpoint, FL 32328)
- Indian Creek Old Ferry Dock (93 North Bayshore Drive, Eastpoint, FL 32328)
- St. George Island (Bryant Patton Bridge - St. George Island Side, Eastpoint, FL 32328)
- Ten Foot Hole/Battery Park (1 Bay Avenue, Apalachicola, FL 32320)
- Scipio Creek (301 Market Street, Apalachicola, FL 32320)
- John B. Meyer Harbor House (479 Market St, Apalachicola, FL 32320)
- Seafood Landing Park (628 Highway 98, Apalachicola, FL 32320)
To request a site be added or removed from this list, please contact Marine@MyFWC.com.
Allowed Gear
Harvest by hand or tong only.
The possession of any dredge or mechanical harvesting device other than ordinary hand tongs above any public reef is prohibited.
Size Limits
- Minimum size: 3 inches
- Culling: Oysters must be culled over the bar from which they are harvested.
- Tolerance for Undersized Attached Oysters: In instances in which culled oysters less than three (3) inches in greatest dimension are attached to legal size oysters such that to separate them would destroy either oyster, no more than 15% of the attached oysters in any bag or equivalent container may be undersized.
- Tolerance for Undersized Individual, Unattached Oysters: No more than 5% of the oysters in any bag or equivalent container may be undersized.
License Requirements
- Recreational Saltwater Fishing License, unless exempt
Bag and Vessel Limit
- Two bags per person or vessel, whichever is less, per day.
One bag is equal to two 5-gallon buckets, one 10-gallon bucket, or 60 pounds.
Season
- Dixie, Levy and Wakulla counties: Closed June 1 – Aug. 31
- Statewide, excluding Dixie, Levy and Wakulla counties and Apalachicola Bay: Closed July 1 – Sept. 1
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) may temporarily close Shellfish Harvesting Areas during the open season due to a variety of reasons, including rainfall, higher river levels, and harmful algal blooms. To view the current status of Shellfish Harvesting Areas, visit the FDACS Shellfish Harvesting Area Information webpage.
Allowed Gear
Harvest by hand or tong only.
The possession of any dredge or mechanical harvesting device other than ordinary hand tongs above any public reef is prohibited.
Size Limits
- Minimum size: 3 inches
- Culling: Oysters must be culled over the bar from which they are harvested.
- Tolerance for Undersized Attached Oysters: In instances in which culled oysters less than three (3) inches in greatest dimension are attached to legal size oysters such that to separate them would destroy either oyster, no more than 15% of the attached oysters in any bag or equivalent container may be undersized.
- Tolerance for Undersized Individual, Unattached Oysters: No more than 5% of the oysters in any bag or equivalent container may be undersized.
(any species of the genus Mercenaria also known as quahog)
License Requirement
- Saltwater Recreational Fishing License, unless exempt.
Minimum Size Limit
- 1-inch thick across the hinge
- Tolerance for Undersized Hard Clams – Up to 3% of hard clams, by count, in any individual bag, package, or container, may be undersized.
Sorting Requirement: Hard clams must be sorted immediately after they are taken, and undersized hard clams must be returned alive to the place from where they were taken. No more than 1 bushel of unsorted hard clams may be aboard a vessel. No unsorted clams may be on a vessel under power.
Bag and Vessel Limits
- Bag Limit: 5 gallons of hard clams, unshucked, per day.
- Vessel Limit: 10 gallons of hard clams, unshucked, per day.
Season
- Open year-round
Allowed Gear
A person may harvest or attempt to harvest a hard clam from Florida Waters only by or with the use of feet, hands, rakes that meet the specifications below.
Specifications for Rakes – A person may not harvest a hard clam with a rake that has less than 7/8 inch of clear space between the teeth on the horizontal harvesting surface of the rake. A person may not harvest a hard clam with a rake that has less than 7/8 inch of clear space between the bars or dividers of any basket attached to the rake.
Specifications for Tongs ‒ A person may not harvest a hard clam with tongs that have less than 7/8 inch clear space between the teeth on the horizontal harvesting surface of the tongs. A person may not harvest a hard clam with tongs that have less than 7/8 inch of clear space between the bars or dividers of any basket attached to the tongs.
Prohibited Gear and Method of Harvest
A person may not use a rake, dredge, or other mechanical device to harvest hard clams in a grass bed.
A person may not use wire or net in the basket of an implement that is used to harvest hard clams manually.
A person may not use a rake, dredge or other mechanical device manually to harvest hard clams if the engine of any vessel used in connection with the harvest of the hard clams is running. A person using a rake, dredge or other mechanical device manually to harvest hard clams shall turn off the engine of any vessel used in connection with the harvest of the hard clams prior to using any of the gear and may not restart the engine while the gear is in use.
Can oysters and barnacles be used as bait or chum for sheepshead?
Yes, so long as you are adhering to the regulations for each species.
Oysters and barnacles are very different when it comes to regulations.
Oysters have closed seasons, bag limits, size limits and can only be legally harvested in specific shellfish harvesting areas that are classified as "approved" or "conditionally approved" and in the "open" status. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Aquaculture manages these shellfish harvesting areas.
Barnacles on the other hand do not have size limits or specified bag limits, which means that you can harvest up to 100 pounds per person per day with a recreational saltwater fishing license and you can use them to chum sheepshead. You can also simply scrape them off bridge piles and allow them to sink and attract sheepshead. Do not scrape barnacles from private docks or other private structures without permission of the property owner.