Scallop season on hold in Pasco County amid unsafe levels of 2 bacteria

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced a temporary closure to the annual recreational bay scallop season in the Pasco County Zone.

The closure is due to water testing that detected the bacteria saxitoxin and Pyrodinium bahamense at levels exceeding established safety thresholds determined by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program.

FWC says the zone will reopen once testing show levels have decreased to safe levels. The agency is tasked with proactively testing waters to keep Floridians safe. The closure is a precaution to ensure public health.

While scalloping is temporarily closed in the zone, other recreational activities, such as fishing, boating and swimming, are still safe and permissible. Other scallop harvest zones are operating as usual. A list of open scalloping locations is available at MyFWC.com/Scallops.

The Pasco Zone includes all state waters south of the Hernando-Pasco county line and north of the Anclote Key Lighthouse in north Pinellas County.

The zone also includes all waters of the Anclote River. The season had been set to remain open through Aug. 18. FWC didn’t say whether the temporary closure would affect that date.

The daily bag limit in the zone is two gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell or one pint of bay scallop meat — each limit is per person, up to 10 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell or a half-gallon (4 pints) of scallop meat per vessel.

Vessel limits do not allow recreational scallopers to exceed individual limits.

This year’s season has been altered from last year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The FWC approved a change to this year’s season based on results of the 2023 postseason monitoring conducted by FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and input from stakeholders at virtual public workshops, in-person meetings and other public comments.

The FWC at its February meeting approved a change to its annual scalloping season, extending the season from 37 days last year to 40 this year.

Though bay scallop season opens the activity in approved areas, those participating still need a Florida saltwater fishing license to harvest bay scallops, unless they are exempt from licensing or have a no-cost shoreline fishing license and are wading from shore to collect scallops. That applies to waders whose feet do not leave the bottom and who are not snorkeling or SCUBA diving.

Fishing licenses can be purchased at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com or by phone at 1-888-FISH-FLORIDA (888-347-4356). Individuals can also purchase fishing licenses through the Fish|Hunt FL app on Apple and Android devices.