Bay scallop season begins Saturday

Bay scallop season will start a few days early this year.

At the request of the governor’s office, the Florida fish and wildlife Conservation Commission has agreed to let people start harvesting bay scallops this Saturday June the 29^th.

That’s two days earlier than the original start date.

The governor on Tuesday issued a letter to the Florida Fish and Wildlife conservation Commission asking that the scallop season be allowed to begin on Saturday because of the economic importance of the fishery to Florida’s “Big Bend” region.

The governor said that by opening the season on a weekend it will allow more of Florida’s families to enjoy bay scallop harvesting, and help Florida’s continued economic recovery.

If you do plan to get some Bay scallops this weekend – there are a number of rules to remember.

The daily bag limit for bay scallops is two gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell, or one pint of bay scallop meat.

The vessel limit is 10 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell, or ½ gallon of bay scallop meat on board.

It is also illegal to possess or land bay scallops on waters outside open harvest areas.

So while it is legal to take scallops from St. Joe Bay, it would be illegal to dock your boat in Panama City with the scallop catch onboard.

Bay scallops can only be harvested by hand or with a landing or dip net.

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