Because of my interest in bay scallop culture and past ties to Citrus County, I have followed very closely the efforts at bay scallop culture being conducted in the county by Dr. Norman Blake of the University of South Florida and Don Sweat from the University of Florida. Unfortunately, their efforts were largely unrecognized in the aforementioned newspaper article. While the resumption of bay scallop harvesting in Citrus County is desirable, I would encourage continued efforts toward restoration and enhancement. The recovery of the bay scallop population offshore of Citrus County most likely was the result of numerous factors, environmental and man-induced. The resumption of harvesting may serve to increase the importance of continued enhancement efforts in providing adequate numbers of new individuals to support subsequent harvests.
Nobody wants to see harvesting begun, only to be curtailed the next year.
I wish you luck in your bay scallop restoration and look forward to visiting Crystal River, to once again spend a relaxing day on the Gulf of Mexico collecting those tasty morsels. Because of a vigorous seedling program in the area of Homosassa, there seems to be a resurgence of scallops where there were diminishing populations over the past 10 years. The original decline was because of a loss of habitat. The loss of habitat resulted from the shrimping industry's method of harvesting and human pollution. As their watercraft scrape the bottom of our pristine Gulf waters, they destroy necessary sea grass that enables the scallops to thrive.