Tag: scallops

Pasco Scallop Season Disruption

by Dr. Megan Moore
September 8, 2025

2025 reopen UPDATE (9-05-2025): Pasco scallop season reopens for 2 weeks, starting September 6th, 2025. FWC has reopened and extended the recreational scallop season in Pasco County. After continuous testing, measured levels for both the ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Food Safety, Natural Resources, Recreation, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Closure, Florida Sea Grant, Pasco County, Pyrodinum Bahamense, Scalloping, Scalloping Shutdown, Scallops, Shellfish, Toxin, UF-IFAS, UF/IFAS Pasco Extension Office

2025 Pensacola Scallop Search Report

by Rick O'Connor
September 3, 2025

Introduction The bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) was once common in the lower portions of the Pensacola Bay system. However, by 1970 they were all but gone. Closely associated with seagrass, especially turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum), ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
Tags: Florida Sea Grant, Pensacola Scallop Search, Scallops

2024 Pensacola Scallop Search Report

by Rick O'Connor
August 26, 2024

Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
Tags: Florida Sea Grant, Pensacola Bay, Scallops

From Class to Community Action

by Thomas Zapor
August 12, 2024

We’re highlighting all things Florida Master Naturalist Program (FMNP) in 2021 as the program marks its 20th anniversary. To learn more about FMNP, view the first blog post here. By Taylor Paynter, Ray Bodrey and Scott Jackson Florida ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Bay County, Coastal Restoration, Coastal Systems, Ecosystems, Florida Master Naturalist Program, Gulf County, Scallop Sitters, Scallops

Are the Scallops Returning?

by Rick O'Connor
July 15, 2024

I remember scalloping when I was young. We traveled to Port St. Joe Florida and camped at a local fish camp. We pitched our tent right at the edge of the water, which was a mistake because we felt the bumps and movements of the fiddler crabs ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
Tags: Florida Sea Grant, Scallops

Scallop Sitters in Hernando County

by Brittany Hall-Scharf
March 26, 2024

Over the last year, a team of volunteers worked hard to help give the bay scallop population off Hernando's coast a boost. These volunteers go by the name of "Scallop Sitters." Their efforts have not gone unnoticed by visitors and residents ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Recreation, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Wildlife, Work & Life
Tags: Florida Sea Grant, Hernando, Scallops, UF/IFAS Extension Hernando County

Meet the Bay Scallop

by Rick O'Connor
July 27, 2023

As I write this, we are in the middle of our 2023 Scallop Search, an event we do each year to assess whether the scallops in Pensacola Bay are trying to make a comeback on their own. Each year I am amazed at how popular this little mollusk ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
Tags: Florida Sea Grant, Scallops

The Great Scallop Search – 2022 – Pensacola Bay System

by Rick O'Connor
October 24, 2022

Introduction The bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) was once a common bivalve in the lower portion of Pensacola Bay. Found in the thick grassbeds of Big Lagoon and Santa Rosa Sound, it provided both a recreational and commercial fishery ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
Tags: Florida Sea Grant, Scallop Sea Search, Scallops

National Estuaries Week – Bay Scallops

by Rick O'Connor
September 23, 2022

We round out National Estuaries Week with an article about yet another marine animal that was once common in lower Pensacola Bay and disappeared. This is one that many local residents would LOVE to see make a return. It is the bay scallop. Many ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
Tags: Florida Sea Grant, National Estuaries Week, Scallops

UF/IFAS Extension Florida Sea Grant Develops Scallop Sorter Tool

by Brittany Hall-Scharf
July 27, 2022

Chuck before you shuck! Leave the small scallops behind! Did you know bay scallops in Florida's waters only live for 18 months? Or that the recreational harvest season along the Gulf Coast occurs before scallops are allowed to reproduce? ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Recreation, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Best Management Practices, Florida Sea Grant, Scallop Sorter, Scallops

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