Alabama oyster season opens

Alabama oystermen returned to the waters of south Mobile County on Monday, November 2, to start the 2026 season. It is the second consecutive year the state has opened a limited fishing period following a sharp drop in oyster populations.

The season will end as soon as the state quota is met. Officials estimate this could happen within a couple of weeks. Randy Armstrong, a fisherman from Irvington, said his crew caught 100 oysters each, which matches the recreational limit. He noted that about 10 boats were active on the water that morning, with some crews collecting up to three sacks.

Armstrong said he plans to consume the day's catch rather than sell it. He explained that local buyers are offering only 22 cents per pound. "We just getting them to eat right now because we ain't going to sell them for twenty-two cents," Armstrong said. He added that there is currently only one person purchasing oysters from the fleet.

Jason Herrmann, a scientist with Alabama Marine Resources, identified poor water conditions as the primary cause of the decline. Over the last several years, salinity levels have fluctuated between being too salty and too fresh during critical spawning periods. This has resulted in a shortage of spat, or baby oysters, for multiple years.

Herrmann warned that the issue is not just about the number of harvestable, three-inch oysters. He described these larger oysters as the producers, or the mother and father oysters. Removing them while younger oysters struggle to survive compounds the population problem. "If we take all those away and we're having a problem with survivability and production of our younger oysters, our spat, that just compounds the problem," Herrmann said.

Mitch Fore, another oyster fisherman, advocated for closing the season for several years after this harvest to allow the population to recover. He pointed to Mississippi, which closed its oyster industry for nine years and now has a plentiful supply. Fore noted that Mississippi now restricts Alabama residents from catching oysters in its waters.

Most fishermen on Monday adhered to the 100-oyster recreational limit. Armstrong confirmed his crew stopped fishing once they reached that count, stating, "That's all we went after."