Scallops making rebound off Citrus

Harvesters are hopeful that the comeback, especially in waters off Citrus County, might eventually lead to lifting of the ban on recreational catches.

By JOSH ZIMMER

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 19, 2000

CRYSTAL RIVER -- Each July 1, the boats would converge by the hundreds upon Citrus County's coastal flats, forming a peaceful armada that stretched for miles.

In a scene repeated year after year, people would don masks and snorkels just to fill their nets with succulent bay scallops. The annual rite attracted hordes of outsiders who scrambled for the limited openings in the local motels.

"My family would come over and it was impossible to get a room," said Mary Evans, 62, co-manager of the Kings Bay Lodge. "There's nothing like the scallops when you saute them in just a tad bit of butter, pepper and garlic. Especially when you brought them in . . . and they were fresh. They were just, hmmm, delicious."

So much for good times.

For many, fond memories are the only thing that links them to those fine, lazy days spent lounging with family and friends on the water.

Since July 1994, recreational harvesting of bay scallops has been restricted in Florida to an area north of the Suwannee River. That year authorities also imposed a statewide ban on all commercial harvesting.

Biologists are not sure why, but the bay scallop population had declined to dangerously low levels. Even now, recreational harvesting is limited to July 1 through Sept. 10.

"We don't really have any idea because the population was really strong there until the late '80s," said Dan Marelli, a biologist with the Florida Marine Research Institute, part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "In fact, 1989 was the last good year. But for some reason, for 10 years they stayed down. It may just be a natural cycle."

Maybe, maybe not.

Biologists, who several years ago implemented a major scallop reseeding program, say the sweet-tasting mollusks are making a comeback.

Shrimpers say they can tell the difference from recent years. They ply the same waters as the scallops and are having to toss more back. According to Marelli, shrimpers are beginning to complain about the damage the hard-shelled creatures are wreaking on their nets.

To prevent people from getting funny ideas, the commission's local Marine Enforcement office issued a press release last week telling people the recreational ban is still in effect. The office -- which covers Citrus, Levy, Hernando and Pasco counties -- said it has been flooded with calls from people finding scallops but are not sure what to do with them.

"It's definitely coming back," said Homosassa shrimper Rocky Foster, who recently participated with Marelli in an annual program to monitor area scallop populations.

"Our number more than tripled this year over last year," Foster said and called the stretch between Ozello and Crystal River the richest area of all. "Our best catch was 2,000 scallops for a 10-minute drag. Last year, the best drag was 700 scallops."

Foster, 37, would like to go back to the days when shrimpers and other fishermen could supplement their income by selling the scallops they trapped to local seafood suppliers. It was a good way to overcome the seasonal lull.

"It enabled us to work through the summer," said Foster, who fishes this time of year to get by.

While the scallops appear to be returning, the reason for it is unclear. One possibility is that the state's reseeding program has succeeded in restoring them, Marelli said.

Biologists should understand the program's impact later this year after conducting genetic analysis on several hundred samples culled from local waters, he said.

The commercial ban may never be lifted, Marelli said, no matter how prevalent scallops become. The future for recreational scallopers, who now flock to coastal meccas like Steinhatchee and St. Joseph's Point, looks brighter.

The area off Citrus County is a particularly good candidate for being taken off the list, Marelli said, although a constant concern is that increased development will pollute the aquifer and affect water quality along the coast. Red tide, a fairly common occurrence, pose another threat to scallops.

"The idea we've always had as biologists is to see recreational harvesting come back," Marelli said. "There's a good, healthy population out there right now, and I would probably say Crystal River is probably very close to the point where it's open to recreational scalloping. I would think the (Fish and Wildlife Conservation) commission would seriously think about reopening it next year."

"It used to be really a big thing," Homosassa resident Gator MacRae said. "Especially July 1. I mean there were 400 to 500 boats, I would say. It would be a family. Boats would go together and spend the day. It was fun to do."

So much fun, in fact, that MacRae, his wife and their two children are heading up to Steinhatchee in a couple of weeks to dive for scallops, shuck them and, the best part of all, eat the sumptuous catch.

Said Evans: "I still have people calling me and asking me if it's going to be this year."

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