Hurricane Idalia Could Cost Farmer $3 Million Business

Hurricane Idalia tore through Florida's west coast on Wednesday, causing destruction to homes, infrastructure and businesses.

Idalia quickly strengthened in the warm Gulf of Mexico water as it moved past Cuba on Tuesday. The storm made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane at about 7:45 a.m. ET on Wednesday near the Keaton Beach community in Taylor County, about 75 miles southeast of Tallahassee. It has since been downgraded to a tropical storm as it moves up the coast. Tropical storm and storm surge warnings are in effect for parts of North Carolina.

As the storm moved through Florida, devastating storm surge and extreme flooding severely damaged Cedar Key, an island community off the state's northwest coast. The island is home to only 683 people, according to a 2020 census, and a beloved tourist hotspot. The storm not only damaged the island's Dock Street—populated with unique shops and restaurants—but it also destroyed the island's clam farming business.

While Virginia and Washington state are the nation's largest producers of fresh clams, Cedar Key farmers supply fresh clams nationwide, contributing 120 million clams to the industry. The clamming industry supports 500 jobs in Cedar Key, according to Leslie Sturmer, a shellfish extension specialist at the University of Florida.

John Schleede is one of the clam farmers on the island. He sells 20 million fresh clams nationwide each year—equivalent to $3 million. Schleede told Newsweek he expects the storm's damage will have an impact on clam supply and prices nationwide.

As of Wednesday evening, Schleede had not been able to assess the damages to his farm and is worried that it and others on the island have been decimated.

"We're not even allowed on the island back to our homes to assess the damage," he said, adding that damage assessment will likely take a while.

Deb Soldatos, who has owned buildings on Cedar Key for 25 years, said that the clams are raised directly in the Gulf of Mexico.

Insurance options are limited on Cedar Key if not nonexistent given the Florida insurance crisis, in which many insurers have stopped offering new policies in the state after citing hurricane risk. Residents and business owners must pay for the damages out of pocket.

Soldatos told Newsweek that although Cedar Key residents and business owners are devastated, they are a close-knit community who have united in the past to rebuild when Hurricane Hermine landed as a Category 1 storm in 2016.

Sturmer told Newsweek that the hurricane likely won't have a significant impact on the national clam supply, but it will have an impact on the livelihood of Cedar Key clam farmers.

"Clams are harvested and cultured in other coastal states," Sturmer said. "But for Cedar Key, it is the largest industry and livelihoods will be impacted."