Change Text Size Change font size: Normal Text Medium Text Large Text

Bay Scallop Recruitment, Growth and Survival


Lee County is joining other Southwest Florida groups in August to get a count of bay scallops in local waters. 
Lee County Pine Island Sound Scallop Search. Aug. 28, 2010. Sign up by emailing Joy Hazell at Jhazell@leegov.com
 
Although bay scallops (Argopecten irradians) were once plentiful throughout much of Florida's west coast, they have virtually disappeared in most areas. An extensive scallop fishery existed in Tampa Bay as recently as the 1960s, but scallops are rarely found now. Charlotte Harbor also supported a commercial fishery some 30 years ago, but scientists believe poor water quality is in large part responsible for these declines.

Currently, the most extensive bay scallop populations are located north and west of the Suwannee River, in the Steinhatchee and in St. Joseph Bay. As miners used canaries as ‘sentinels’ as an early warning system, bay scallops are being used as ‘biomonitors’, providing an early warning system for scientists who monitor the quality of Florida’s coastal waters. Scallops are currently being stocked at Anclote River, Homosassa River, and Tampa Bay. It is hoped that scallop restoration efforts undertaken in areas north of us will eventually benefit this area with new recruitment and viable adult populations.

SCCF Marine Lab staff, through a grant from the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program (CHNEP), are continuing to monitor bay scallop recruitment in Pine Island Sound and Tarpon Bay, along with scientists from FWRI (Drs. Arnold and Geiger), Mote Marine Lab and the Charlotte Harbor NEP (Dr. Leverone). Currently, Coen and Thompson are responsible for nine of the recruitment monitoring stations. The larger Fish and Wildlife Research Institute’s (FWRI, located in St. Petersburg) effort is using this information in the larger statewide monitoring program, along with adult monitoring and juvenile/spat enhancements. FWRI staff assess recruits from our samplers in their lab for consistency across the state. We will continue to deploy new scallop monitoring units monthly and collect the previously deployed units for enumeration.

Read about our Adopt-A-Scallop program.