PAGE 12 - July 4, 2012
The Newscaster/Nature Coast News
Bay scallop season extended
by Two weeks
After determining that two years of season extensions did not significantly impact
the bay scallop population, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)
decided June 28 to permanently extend the recreational season by adding two weeks to the
end.
The decision was made at the Commission meeting in Palm Beach Gardens. Com-
missioners also directed staff to look into the possibility of a future commercial harvest of
bay scallops. The commercial harvest of bay scallops has been closed in Florida state waters
since 1994.
The recreational season, which started July 1 and closed annually on Sept. 11, will
now end Sept. 25. The extension will help increase business opportunities during a time of
the year when other fisheries are closed and tourism has decreased. Bay scallops are also
known to be larger at the end of the summer, which may be a draw for some harvesters.
The Commission extended the season temporarily in 2010 and 2011 to help alleviate eco-
nomic hardships caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Bay scallops can be recreationally harvested in Gulf of Mexico state waters (shore
to nine nautical miles) from the Pasco-Hernando County line to the west bank of the Mexico
Beach Canal in Bay County.
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