Alabama oyster harvest opens Oct. 3

Alabama oyster harvest opens Oct. 3

Limited areas of Alabama public oyster bottoms will be open for weekday harvest beginning on Monday, Oct. 3 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Weekend harvest will also be allowed from 7 a.m. to noon on the following four Saturdays: October 8, 15, 22 and 29.
Harvesters can view their locations and the open harvest areas with Alabama’s Oyster Management Station (OMS) Oyster Grid Map available at outdooralabama.com/oysterharvest. Heron Bay, Cedar Point East, and Cedar Point West grids will open on Monday, October 3. Grids will close based on evaluations of the harvest by MRD staff.
Recreational oyster catchers must report their catch and purchase a recreational harvest tag at the OMS station. Recreational harvesters may take up to 100 legal-size (minimum 3 inches) oysters in the same areas and during the same times as commercial harvest. No license is required but commercial and recreational oysters may not be transported together on a vessel.
Recreational oyster catchers may harvest 100 legal-size oysters per person – by tong and hand only – per day. Recreational harvest may only occur in areas and at times that are open for commercial harvest.
For more info, call (251) 257-9966 or visit outdooralabama.com.
All commercial oyster catchers, regardless of age, must have a commercial oyster catcher’s license in order to participate in the harvest.