Pasco Scallop Season - Nancy Sheridan

Bay scallop season is starting in Pasco County Wednesday (10th). It runs till August 18th. We speak with Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission marine biologist Nancy Sheridan about how to scallop by the rules. 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Gordon Bird here with Beyond the News. Based scallop season starts July tenth in
Pasco County. In Pasco County GulfWaters. It started on the first in
Hernando, Citrus and Levy Counties,and there are different dates for different areas
around the state. And the basescalloping area is broken up into several regions
by county, from up around MexicoBeach and Port Saint Joe all the way

(00:23):
down to the Pasco panelis Line.State Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Marine biologist
Nancy Sheridan joins us on Beyond theNews to talk about base scallop season.
Nancy Sheridan, welcome, thank youglad to be here. Well, we'll
go over all the rules here aswe go along here. But first of

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all, do you need a licenseto harvest scallops? And what kind of
license do you need? If youdo? Yes, Actually, to harvest
base scallops, you do need asaltwater fishing license unless you're exempt from needing
one, or if you have ano cost short line fishing license. If
you're just waiting from short to collectscallops. There are several ways to purchase

(01:07):
the saltwater fishing license. You canvisit go outdoors Florida dot com, or
you can call toll free eight eighteight fish Florida which is eight eight eight
three four seven four three five six, or you can purchase a license through
the fish hunt fl app which canbe obtained on your Apple or Android devices.

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Now, what type of equipment ornetting or whatever can you use and
not use to collect scallops? Well, to collect scallops you can only collect
them by hand or using a landingor dip net, which are just handnets.
And are there limits as far asbagging, as far as if you're

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on a boat or if you're waiting, how do those differ? Tell us
about the limits for scallops? Sure, Well, since we're already in July,
the daily bag limit now is twogallons of whole base gallops in the
shell or one pint of base gallopmeat per person, with a maximum of

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ten gallons of whole base gallops inthe shell or a half gallon, which
about four pints shocked of base gallopmeat per vessel. And if people would
like more information on those current recreationalbase gallop regulations, encourage them to visit
my FWC dot com forward slash scallops. Now, how long does scalloping season

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run in Pasco County? And Iknow the dates are different in other counties.
That's true, the dates are differentin other counties. But Pasco season
opens July tenth and is opened throughAugust eighteenth, So that's close to forty
days. I guess yep, that'sa forty day season. Now, what

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are some of the other things youneed to do for safety while you're scalloping?
I imagine it's different on a boatas opposed to waiting sure well to
be safe when out for a funday scalloping. You know, make sure
to wear your life jacket when you'reunderway on the boat, and you know,
have a designated sober boat operator ifneeded. And also if while you're

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in the water scalloping, those diversand snorkelers should stay within three hundred feet
of a properly displayed divers down flagor device, and within one hundred feet
of the divers down flag if they'reon a river or inlet or a navigation
channel. And then of course,of course, boat operators traveling within three

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hundred feet of those diver down flagsin open water or within one hundred feet
if on a river or inlet,they must slow to idle speed. And
then if folks would like more informationon those diver down warning devices, they
can visit my FWC dot com forwardslash Boating and then click on boating regulations

(04:21):
and select divers down warning devices.And you mentioned rivers. Of course,
the scalloping zone also extends into someriverbeds as well, and in Pasco County,
thinking specifically about the Ankloat river.Mm hmm, right, so there
there are areas within the ankloat justscallops are typically found in inshore near shore

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waters, so in those nice seagrassbeds, so folks can if they're traveling
by boat after day of scalloping,they can travel through the ankloat through closed
areas as long as they don't stopin a closed area. They have scallops

(05:06):
on the boat. Good information foreverybody to know if they're going to be
going out scalloping. And the seasonstarts July tenth in Pascoe County as you
mentioned. And Nancy Sheridan, amarine biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission, thank you very muchfor joining us on beyond the news.

(05:28):
Thank you,