FWC schedules two workshops in Port St. Joe to discuss Bay Scallop season

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has scheduled two public workshops in Gulf County over the next month to talk about this summer’s bay scallop season.

The FWC has indicated it could cancel the 2016 Bay scallop season in St. Joe Bay because of the impacts of a red tide bloom that occurred months ago.

There was red tide in St. Joe Bay between October and December of last year at the same time that scallops spawn and scallop larvae settle in the bay.

Biologists say the scallop population appears to have collapsed.

FWC held an emergency meeting on the issue where many people offered suggestions on how to protect the scallop population without fully closing the bay scallop season.

FWC said it is taking the ideas into consideration before making a final decision.

In the meantime they will hold a workshop on May the 24^th and on June the 13^th to update the community on the most recent monitoring data and to continue working with the public on possible management measures for this summer, as well as future seasons.

Both meetings will be held at the Conference Room at Capital City Bank Conference on Monument Avenue in Port St. Joe.

Both meetings will run from 530 to 730.

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