2010 Tampa Bay Scallop Search

This summer, there has been a great deal of attention to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and in particular the Great Bay Scallop Search!

The Tampa Bay Estuary Program was created by Congress in 1991 to assist the community in restoring and protecting Florida's largest open-water estuary. As a designated "estuary of national significance," Tampa Bay is the economic and environmental centerpiece of a rapidly growing region supporting more than 2.3 million people.

What we learned was that scallops and their presence is a strong indicator of the health and status of the bay water. Why is that? Bay scallops, with their short 12 month life span, are filter feeders and therefore highly sensitive to changes in water quality. As a matter of fact, adult bay scallops can pump as much as 15.5 quarts of water per hour which inturn improves the water quality resulting in long term growth of seagrass beds.

So we decided to take a look ourselves! A drive north to Homosassa, home to Crystal River, and a pristine area of the Bay waters was our destination. Captain Mark loaded us on his boat and we cruised about 30 minutes out into the gulf. He explained that the scallops are now reproducing extremely well, but that scalloping season is still short and there are limits as to how many may be taken from the sea. Our limit was 2 gallons of scallop shells per person and we set out to try this new adventure! Armed with our snorkel equipment and mesh bag, over the side we went.

Knowing how important these creatures were... with their dozens of eyes around the rim seeming aware we were on the hunt, it was a little daunting at first. But the captain showed us the technique and the water was crystal clear making it easy to spot these gems. It wasn't long before we were diving down to get our prize like experts and we filled our quota within a couple of hours. The picture above is our actual "take".

Cleaning the scallops was definitely an interesting part of making our way to the delicious gem of sweet meat that each shell held. To get the true experience, we took a large bag of our freshly cleaned scallops to the restaurant next door to give them a try. Blackened, grilled, cajun and fried... we tried them all and thoroughly enjoyed our feast... knowing that these healthy scallops meant healthy Tampa Bay water. Life is good here in Tampa Bay!