martes, 10 de julio de 2012

Finding scallops is like an Easter egg hunt

STEINHATCHEE - Finding scallops is like an Easter egg hunt, something that adults and children alike can do in the typically crystal-clear water of the Gulf of Mexico.

This year, Tropical Storm Debby dumped record rainfall on North Florida right before the July 1 start of the scallop season. As a result, the tannin-stained water of the region's rivers and creeks has been pushed far into the Gulf and has reduced visibility for the time being.

"You've just got to work a little harder for the Easter egg hunt this year," Charlie Norwood, owner of Sea Hag Marina, said this week.

Scallops were found in lower numbers than last year near Steinhatchee and other locations surveyed last month by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Boaters at Sea Hag Marina reported this week that scallops were abundant, but seeing them through the murky water was a challenge.

"It's tea-colored out there," said Greg Moody of Adel, Ga. Visibility, some scallopers said, improved at low tide.

The influx of fresh water also reduces salinity, which can stress and potentially kill scallops and other saltwater species. Tests done Tuesday by Norwood and Fred Vose, Florida Sea Grant marine agent for Taylor County, found that salinity was low near the mouths of waterways draining into the Gulf but at levels healthy for scallops at other locations.

The dark water is "more of a problem for divers than the scallops," Vose said.

For Norwood and other Steinhatchee business owners, scallop season is one of the most economically important times of the year for the tourism it draws.

State officials opened the season early for the past two years to ease the economic hardship caused by the BP oil spill in the Gulf. This year, the wildlife commission instead permanently extended the end of the season to Sept. 25 from Sept. 11.

Norwood said he sees the most business from families with children out of school at the start of the season, so the additional two weeks are little help to him.

"The only ones going at the end of the season are the die-hards," he said. "Economically, I don't think it does anything."

From a biological standpoint, Vose said it's better to add time at the end of the season than the beginning. Scallop limits are determined by volume, so getting smaller scallops early in the season means a greater number are taken. The daily limit is two gallons of scallops in the shell per person or 10 gallons per boat.

The numbers in the wildlife commission's survey suggest that the extended harvests of the past two years have had an impact, Vose said. Four of the five locations surveyed saw lower numbers than last year, with Steinhatchee dropping to an average of 28.2 from 136.1 scallops observed per 600 square meters.

"Increasing harvest is something that's done with caution usually, and that's not the case this time in my opinion," Vose said.

In addition to extending the season, wildlife commissioners also directed staff to look into the possibility of a commercial harvest of scallops. Florida closed the commercial harvest in 1994.

An average of 25 or more scallops per 600 square meters is seen as large enough to sustain a healthy population, said Sarah Stephenson, an assistant research scientist who manages the scallop survey for the commission's research institute. Four of the five survey locations, with the exception of St. Joseph Bay, had figures greater than 25.

The number of scallops in Steinhatchee usually remains high from year to year because the water flow of the Big Bend tends to keep them in that area, Stephenson said.

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