What is Scalloping?

Scalloping is a Florida summertime favorite for both locals and tourists. Snorkelers dive in shallow seagrass beds in search of these small bivalve mollusks, capturing them by hand or with a small net. The season is normally limited to a period determined by Florida Fish and Wildlife. In my area, the season has consisted of either a 10-day window or a 30-45 day window, decided by the previous years' statistical data. 2024 brought a year of adjustment to our scallop season as it had to be temporarily closed due to harmful toxins flourishing in the scallops and the local waters. With the reopening of Scallop season coming just 1 day away (August 28 - September 24th), I thought I would share my personal connection to this Florida pasttime.

Always the Photographer

As a photographer, I can attest that we are always looking for new stories to tell, but some of our best stories are not planned out; they hit us abruptly in the face like a bad V8 commercial. One sunny day in mid-July I was made aware of this fact, I was still in college for photography and I had a storytelling project assigned. I had no clue what I really wanted to say, with the perfect storm of distractions due to family being in town. The story I thought I was going to tell, was the hidden work behind a day of scalloping. With a planned scallop trip, it made sense in my havoc-wrecked mind; yet, something just kept feeling off with my plan. I didn't seem invested or excited about the project. The motivation just was not there.

Determined out of necessity I packed my underwater Olympus camera and my Canon dry camera in a Pelican case and hopped in the back of the truck to make our way to the boat ramp. As I hastily ran through my shot list in my head, knowing my first opportunity for shots would be occurring shortly, it hit me! I have a huge hidden story in scalloping, one no one would ever guess!

You see I love scalloping, I feel at peace when I am snorkeling in the Gulf of Mexico, the sun on my back, looking for the flash of little blue eyes! The reason for my love could be attributed to the feeling of weightlessness because I do have Psoriatic Arthritis, but that is not it. It could have been the fact that scallop season is the time of year when family and friends come to visit, but that isn't my reason either. You see, scalloping connected me to a family member bringing me closer to them and assisting me in grieving their loss. It brought me closer to my brother, George.

My Brother George

George was my older brother by a year and a half.  I grew up being his shadow, always two steps behind him from playing in the woods to riding motorbikes. We were best friends and the worst of enemies, always in each other's faces. In the early years, we shared a room, playing and terrorizing each other 24 hours a day to my mother's dismay. The older we got the more distance was placed between us. Initially in the change of having our own rooms and later the expanse grew to living on opposite ends of the world. After high school George went on to the military and later to a career in aviation with UPS. I joined the military and married another military member, my high school sweetheart Joe. Eventually, after my husband earned his retirement from the Air Force, we came back home to Florida. George seeing us home, with all our siblings (all 4 of us) in the same state wanted nothing more than to move back to Florida. He was ready to trade the open road and his motorcycles for a boating lifestyle with our family. As a family, we kind of do it all, snorkel, fish, scuba dive, spearfish.... if it has to do with the ocean we are there. The problem would be that George would never get that chance.

On a dark Kentucky night in the middle of May 2017, George would lose his life. He was riding his motorcycle without a helmet, hit a small rock on a winding road, and crashed.   At the time of his death, we had been planning our first scallop trip together; a trip we would never make.  

Fast forward two months, the heat of July is at an all-time high, and scallop season is about to begin. While my husband and his family bustle around preparing for the first day of diving, I sit quietly, sad, and depressed; still grieving the loss of a brother. Somehow 20 minutes pass, and we are at the first scallop location, ready to explore the possibilities. I must have drifted off in my grief-stricken haze. As with all traditions of water, I am the first in the water, a scout of sorts (Captians stay in the boat while First Mates do the work, lol). I take a deep breath and say a quick prayer while getting my gear on... "Lord grant me the serenity to survive the things I cannot handle." Pulling the last fin on I roll backwards into the shallow grasslands of the Gulf.

Healing Waters

All at once, a shiver runs through my body as I hit the crystal water. I roll placing my face down towards the shallow grassbed and right beneath me is the first scallop of the season. It wasn't the luck of that moment that brought me peace, but it did come much later. After everyone entered the water and became acquainted with the task, I drifted off to my own little search area. Here I was free to feel my emotions, I could silently cry, and no one would see my tears. No one could see the earthquake of trembling that moved through my body uncontrollably. I was truly alone to be with myself and think. Mindlessly, I moved through the water; left fin kick, right fin kick...oh a scallop! Then back to the methodical kick, kick, search. After a few moments of searching, I would stop to empty the tears that filled my mask so I could see. The sun shone down on me hot and humid, I looked quickly around, and then putting my mask on I said my little prayer one last time in hopes that it would help stop the tears of grief. "Lord grant me the serenity to navigate the things I struggle with, ease my pain, put my mind to rest." Dunking my face back in the water I continued to no fish in particular, "Lord, take care of my brother, wherever he is. Let him know what I am doing today, and I do it for his memory. Let him watch over me and find joy in the moments I chose to share with him."

Hidden Hope

I cannot even explain exactly what happened, it sounds crazy, even to me.  The sun's shining intensified, making the rays seem particularly strong, penetrating through the seaweed, and lighting a path. The scallops now highlighted in the water were easy to find, I quickly swam in circles grabbing what seemed like an exceptional fill of the mollusks. It wasn’t the blessing of the plentiful little crustaceans, but this overwhelming feeling of peace.  It was like the sun shined through the water like a flashlight beam in the night, and a weight was just lifted.  Still to this day, I cannot explain why God answered my prayers, just like I cannot put into words the immense change of emotion I experienced.  It was a feeling of being alone in an ocean of grief, then having it lifted and being able to see the little glimmers of hope through the fish and marine life; like I was doing it all for the first time. Through fresh eyes, which didn’t feel like my own at all, it was as if I saw the ocean through George’s eyes...full of anticipation, throwing care to the wind, making everything fun in some new way.

Still to this day, when I enter the water, I say my serenity prayer…” Lord grant me the serenity to achieve what is necessary, grant me the peace to overcome any obstacles this day has for me…” but before I am finished I add, “…and George, as always this one’s for you…bring me a little luck if you can.”

A word about Conservation and Scallops

Today the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced the reopening of the recreational bay scallop harvest in Pasco County, starting on August 28th and continuing through September 24, 2024. This celebratory news for locals and tourists comes with some words of conservation.

Bay scallops in Florida have a relatively short life cycle, typically only living for one year. They rarely grow larger than 3 inches in shell height and have a season-based life cycle. In May scallops begin to separate from the bottom of the ocean and begin a rapid growth process. By July the scallops have reached between 40-50mm in size, before reaching their maximum size of 60mm in December. During the early fall months, the scallops begin to reproduce starting the next generation of scallops for harvesting. The natural mortality rate during winter months is high due to senescence (natural deterioration or a loss of a cell's power of division and growth). Bay scallops live primarily in seagrass beds, but are also found in open sand or on algal mats. They feed through filtering small particles of algae and organic matter from water.

Bay scallops historically were found in Florida from West Palm Beach on the Atlantic coast to Pensacola, the states northwest corner. However, in recent years the locations in which they can be found has dissipated, and in some areas disappeared completely. The isolated populations of scallops are now scattered along Florida's west coast and the majority are found from Tarpon Springs in Pinellas County to Port St. Joe in Gulf County (myfwc.com).

Why the loss of scallops? Scallops are sensitive to changing environmental conditions including: seagrass loss, increase in fresh water, and loosening of sediments.

What can you do?

Harvesting: Only harvest the correct allowable amount by local FWC agencies. The daily bag limit in Pasco County is 2 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell or 1 pint of scallop meat per person, with a maximum of 10 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell or 1/2 gallon (4pints)shucked bay scallop meat per vessel. You must have a valid Florida Saltwater Fishing License.

Restoration: Scientists are using a 3-pronged approach to enhance the bay scallop populations. 1. Installed cages holding groups of adult scallops to protect a certain percentage of the scallop population against predators every year prior to harvest season. 2. Scientist work with commercial hatcheries to spawn adult scallops, collecting bay scallop larvae and hatching them in a protected environment before release. 3. Release of juvenile scallops from hatcheries or naturally-harvested scallops.

Reporting: Scientists count boats in areas open to bay scallop harvest, as well as conducting shore-based creel surveys to track trends and generate population models.

Seagrass Awareness: It is a violation of Florida law to damage seagrass beds within state waters. Boaters should stay within the marked channels whenever possible and avoid traveling through seagrass beds in shallow water, which leads to propeller scars and deterioration of the grass beds.

Boater/Diver Safety: Follow all local Boater and Diver safety regulations. Wearing life jackets, displaying dive flags, and staying within the allowable distance of the boat at all times can help to save lives! Check with your local FWC department to learn more about your local regulations. (myfwc.com)

Volunteer: Scallop Sitters: You can volunteer to maintain cages with up to 50 bay scallops from June through January. Volunteers check, count, and clean their cages and scallops. Each volunteer receives 1 cage, 1 bucket of scallops, tools to maintain cages, instructions...and more! Volunteer today at: FWC