Calling All Sea-Foodies: Our New Giveaway is a Culinary Dream-Come-True!

From now until October 15^th, Florida’s Forgotten Coast is offering a truly scrumptious sweepstakes: It’s our Seafood Culinary Getaway! The lucky winner will receive a two-night stay on the beautiful Forgotten Coast, two evening meals at fabulous Franklin County restaurants, an eye-opening tour of a local seafood processing house, a charter boat trip and event tickets. It’s every sea-foodie’s dream vacation!

Dive into Seafood Paradise

If you haven’t heard by now, Forgotten Coast is seafood lover’s paradise. Franklin County has long been renowned for its fresh, local seafood, including shrimp, blue crabs, fish and—of course—our world-famous Apalachicola oysters.

Why is seafood such big business for the Forgotten Coast? Because the Apalachicola Bay and River is one of the most productive estuary systems in the world. The nutrient-rich Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system creates a complex network of food chains in our bay. These environmental conditions come together to make Apalachicola Bay the ideal feeding, breeding and nursery ground for a bounty of oysters, shrimp, blue crabs and other sea life.

Most notably, our area produces heaps of plump, delicious oysters. The species harvested from our bay is the much-preferred “American” or “Eastern” oyster. Over the years, delectable Apalachicola oysters have become a household name around the nation.

However, shrimping is also a major industry for Franklin County. Apalachicola Bay shrimpers average more than a million pounds per year—that’s nearly 20 percent of the Sunshine State’s total shrimp supply. There are three major types of shrimp harvested from the waters in and around Apalachicola Bay: white, brown and pink shrimp. Inshore shrimp fishermen generally do their work from a small bay boat, less than 38 feet long. Offshore shrimpers head out on much larger boats, usually between 72 and 90 feet in length. These bigger boats generally stay out on the Gulf of Mexico for 10 days or longer, so the shrimpers flash freeze their catch to keep them fresh.

Franklin County also has a thriving blue crab industry and is responsible for nearly 10 percent of the entire state’s hard-shell blue crabs. Blue crabs, both hard-shell and softshell, are typically harvested inshore in the estuary.

Last but not least, the county harvests an array of commercial fish species from Apalachicola Bay, including mullet, flounder and pompano.

Enter to Win Today!

Is your mouth watering yet? If you’re ready get your “claws” on some of the freshest seafood in the country, it’s time to pay a visit to Florida’s Forgotten Coast!

Want to plan your own seafood lover’s vacation? Book your trip to the Forgotten Coast!