Scallop Harvesting Season Open In Pasco County Through July 24

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL —The annual bay recreational scallop harvesting season opens Friday in Pasco County, and fans of this popular pastime are readying their dip nets and snorkeling gear for this one-a-year chance to collect these tasty fan-shaped shelled bivalve mollusks.

Running now through July 24, Pasco County is the only area in Tampa Bay where the Florida Fish and Conservation Commission permits scallops to be harvested. The harvesting boundaries run from the Hernando-Pasco County line to north of the Anclote Key Lighthouse in northern Pinellas County, including the Anclote River.

“We can’t wait to see what this year’s scalloping season has in store,” said Florida’s Sports Coast Tourism Director Adam Thomas. “We’re proud to offer such an unforgettable outdoor experience for local families and avid scallopers.”

There are only eight Florida counties where scallop harvesting is permitted for a limited time each year: Pasco, Franklin, Wakulla, Taylor, Dixie, Citrus, Gulf and Hernando counties.

According to the FWC, the Florida bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) grows in the seagrass beds of the Gulf of Mexico. They start growing while attached to seagrass until they are developed enough to fall into the grass and stay there for the remainder of their short lives.

That doesn't mean scallops just lie around waiting for scallop lovers to collect them in nets.

Unlike their other bivalve buddies, scallops can quickly swim across the ocean floor by clapping their shells together. They can sense the shadowy presence of a predator with their 30 bead-like blue eyes along the edge of their shell's opening, used to detect dark, light and motion. that they use to detect dark, light, and motion.

Either swimming from the shore or diving from a boat, scallop hunters generally search for the scallops off the Pasco County coast or in the Anclote River using snorkeling gear. This requires diving 4 to 6 feet to the seagrass beds where the scallops are concealed.

Scallop hunters are permitted to use their hands or a dip net to collect 2 gallons of bay scallops in the shell or 1 pint of bay scallop meat a day, with a maximum of 10 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell per boat.

The only equipment needed are a mask, snorkel, fins or a dip net and a scallop bag. Gloves are optional.

Recreational harvesters need a Florida saltwater fishing license to harvest bay scallops unless they are exempt from needing a license or have a no-cost shoreline fishing license and are wading from shore to collect scallops (i.e. feet do not leave bottom to swim, snorkel or SCUBA and do not use a vessel to reach or return from the harvest location).

Scallop divers are required to use a divers-down warning device with the universal divers-down symbol featuring a red rectangle or square with white diagonal strip to warn other boaters that there are divers below the water. The flag, buoy or other device must be at least 12 by 12 when displayed in the water. Divers must also attach a divers-down device at least 20 by 24 inches to the boat (see FWC divers-down instructions). Then divers should stay within 100 feet of the flag or buoy in rivers, inlets or channels and within 300 feet in the open water.

Families with young children have also had success hunting for scallops by wading in low tide waters, and grabbing the scallops lurking a few feet below the surface. This option requires no snorkeling equipment or divers-down flags.

Scallop harvesters can also hire a charter boat to hunt for scallops. To arrange a scalloping trip contact:

• Capt. Mark Dillingham's Inshore Adventures of Hudson
• Anclote Charters
• Coastal Outfitters Sport Fishing Charters in New Port Richey
• Reel Good Times
• Nature Coast Inshore Charters at Skeleton Point Marina in Hudson
• Sports Coast Inshore Charters at Skeleton Point Marina in Hudson
• Flats Snookin Inshore Charters of New Port Richey
• Catch-A-Ray Charter
• Fishing Florida Flats & Nature Tours of Hudson
• Mad Red Fishing Charters of Tampa Bay
• Hudson Charter Co.
• Windsong Charters & Boat Rentals of New Port Richey
• Capt. Chris Brown's West Coast Fishing Adventures
• Cotee Breeze Charters
• Florida Backwater Charters

To aid the FWC in its research, scallopers are asked to report their bay scallop catch to the Division of Marine Fisheries Management. With the data these recreational harvesters provide, biologists hope to gain a greater understanding of the species' biology and range limitations.