FWC Still mulling fate of Bay Scallop Season in Gulf County

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will hold 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 last week and said over 45 people attended; many 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 in May and one in early June 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.

The FWC is still finalizing workshop dates and locations in the Port St. Joe area – Oyster Radio will pass the information along when it becomes available.

The Bay scallop season will also be a topic of discussion at the June FWC meeting in Apalachicola.

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