Scallops for Supper in Florida
By sandra. Filed in Family Fun, Florida, Food, Nature |
This year, the bay scallop recreational harvest season will begin a week early on June 25 and end on Sept. 25, two weeks later than normal. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is predicting large numbers of scallops in the Steinhatchee area and good numbers around Crystal River, based on their annual scallop survey. The most popular destinations for recreational scallopers are Steinhatchee, Crystal River and Homosassa. This is because the Florida bay scallop, a bivalve mollusk, grows and lives in the shallow (4 to 10 feet deep) sea grass beds that are common to these areas.
FWC regulates harvesting of scallops, like it does other fish, in order to maintain healthy populations. At one time scallops ranged abundantly across the state, from Palm Beach on the east coast to Pensacola on the west coast. Today, however, healthy populations can only be found in selected locations along the Gulf coast.
In Florida, commercial harvesting of bay scallops is banned. In general, recreational scallopers between the ages of 16 and 65 must have a current Florida saltwater fishing license to collect scallops. This is available in bait shops, FWC offices, or at the FWC website (http://myfwc.com/). All non-residents over the age of 16 are required to buy a license, unless they are fishing (scalloping) from a for-hire vessel (guide, charter, party boat) that has a valid vessel license.
Equipment needed: A group of snorkelers with mesh bags and a divers-down flag (required by law)
In shallow water, it is possible to wade for scallops in the seagrass, or to collect them from a shallow-draft boat using a dip net or landing net, but these methods are not very productive. Scallops may be spotted on or near the bottom of sea grass beds, usually lying on their ventral shells. Often, they are easiest to find in borderline areas where the sand/mud bottom meets the edge of the grasses. Scallops have many neon-blue eyes and may try to swim away when they see you, but they do not swim fast or far. Keep collected scallops in a mesh bag, rather than in a pocket or in your swimsuit. They can pinch!
Most scallopers go by boat into water 4 to 10 feet deep where they anchor, put up their dive flag, and snorkel over the beds, collecting the scallops by hand. When brought to the boat, scallops should be immediately placed on ice in a cooler for the trip to shore, unless you decide to clean the scallops while on the water. Scallops are quite sensitive to temperature, and will quickly die if they are not kept cold. Even if kept cold, scallops will usually die shortly after being placed on ice, especially if fresh water gets into their shells. Placing them on ice, however, makes them easier to open, because the muscle holding the shells together relaxes. A scallop, clam or oyster knife, or even a t
easpoon, can be used to open the shells and cut the white muscle free, discarding the shells and unwanted soft parts. Although most Floridians only eat the scallop muscle, in many other parts of the world the entire animal is eaten, much like we eat clams and oysters.
For the first time, FWC is asking scallopers to help them with their ongoing research. You can help by recording the following details of your catch and report them at www.surveymonkey.com/s/bayscallops: date collected, County collected in, number of scallopers, total number of scallops collected, total volume of scallops collected and total time collecting.