Thank you to all who participated in the Great Bay Scallop Search on Saturday! It was a beautiful day to be on the bay. 174 volunteers and staff including a record 39 boats and 14 canoes and/or kayaks snorkeled Lower Tampa Bay to find a total of 54 scallops. This year’s number is down from last year’s 233, but Tampa Bay Watch is happy with it since it is in line with Florida Fish & Wildlife’s recent survey of scallops in the bay and they were spread out pretty evenly throughout the survey area. The number is down due to red tide last winter when scallops are spawning. Additional factors include the recent heavy rains due to El Nino and wastewater overflow into the bay. A special thanks to our sponsors SeaWorld Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, RBC & Tampa Bay Estuary Program who supported the event. A shout out to Hot Mess Food Truck who fed us a delicious lunch and Lealman Fire Department who kept us all going with music, popcorn and sno-cones.
Information courtesy of Tampa Bay Watch.
