Economically, the situation has become so desperate that Gov. Rick Scott, a conservative Republican who is not inclined to ask for federal help, wrote to the United States Commerce Department last year and asked it to declare the oyster harvesting areas a fishing disaster. No designation has been made yet.

“Our message is that this is worth saving,” said Chris Millender, 38, a lifelong oysterman here who helped form the Seafood Management Assistance Resource and Recovery Team to help save the bay. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”

Since last year, oystermen have scarcely been able to scrape up several sacks of oysters a day from the bay, a far cry from the 40 they fill in the best of times. The number of adult oysters began to decline in 2007, oystermen said, and has gotten progressively worse. This year, the so-called spat, the larvae of oysters, are struggling to mature.

Under the best circumstances, it would take at least two years for this crop of young oysters to grow large enough for harvest. Typically, the bay here produces 90 percent of Florida’s oysters and 10 percent of the country’s overall oyster haul.

“The spat is just not where it should be,” said Shannon Hartsfield, the president of the Franklin County Seafood Workers Association. “And it all points to the river.”

Alarmed, Congressional and state lawmakers from both parties are scrambling to heighten awareness and push for either a legislative solution to control the river flow or a new agreement on water use with Georgia. Considering that the feud between Georgia and Florida has lasted decades, the odds of an agreement are not favorable.