October 30, 2014 — Coveted by locals for their tenderness and briny sweetness, bay scallops rarely reach the mouths of tourists, because they can be harvested only recreationally. A commercial harvesting ban in the 1990s, credited with saving them from extinction, leaves those of us hankering for these tasty bivalves with two choices: persuade someone who has some to share or get in the water.
Fat chance that you’ll find the first. Happily, hunting for bay scallops is loads of fun. And, as I learn one late summer day, blessedly simple.
About all you need are a swimsuit, snorkeling gear and somewhere to stash your scallops, ideally a mesh bag. Because scallops can be found nestled in turtle grass in water as shallow as two feet, you can wade barefoot to collect them. Still, I agree with veteran scallopers like Gianpiero, who prefers to take his boat out to deeper water — maybe eight to 10 feet — and find them while snorkeling.
This Sunday morning, Gianpiero, his wife, Louise, and I launch his boat from Bayport Park, an hour’s drive north from my home in Tampa, and closest to some of Gianpiero’s plum scalloping spots. Though found all along Florida’s Gulf Coast, bay scallops can legally be collected only during a three-month season ending in September and solely from waters extending from the PascoHernando county line, north and west, to the west bank of the Mexico Beach Canal in Bay County.
By the time we reach our first scalloping spot, we are more than a mile from shore. To non-boating types such as myself, we seem disconcertingly far from land. Yet, as with much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, it’s shallow out here for miles, averaging six to 12 or so feet, depending on tides. Our GPS measures nine feet down where we are, about the same as the deep end of most backyard swimming pools.
Read the full story at the Washington Post