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Forty
boats with more than 150 volunteer snorkelers participated in the Great
Bay Scallop Search on Saturday, August 16 by searching selected sites
in Lower Tampa Bay for the bay scallop.
Volunteers found only one live
scallop in 2005 due to the severe red tide, 17.5 were found in 2006 and
555 were found in 2007. This year’s final count of 624 scallops is a
promising sign attributed to 25 years of water quality improvements and
habitat restoration efforts in our region. Additionally, out of 70
blocks surveyed, 33 contained scallops according to Kevin Misiewicz,
Environmental Specialist with Tampa Bay Watch. This widespread coverage
indicates that water quality to support scallops is growing in Tampa
Bay.
Tampa Bay Watch and Tampa Bay Estuary Program have sponsored this
resource monitoring program annually since 1993. The purpose of Scallop
Search is to monitor and document the health and status of the bay
scallop population. Bay scallops, or the Argopecten irradians
disappeared from Tampa Bay in the 1960s when the bay water was highly
polluted from dredging operations and industrial and municipal wastes.
Tampa Bay’s water quality and seagrass beds have since improved to
levels that will once again the bay scallop population.
The Great Bay Scallop Search is Tampa Bay Watch’s most popular
volunteer event. Not only does it offer the opportunity to bring
attention to the bay’s valuable resources, but it also promotes
hands-on volunteerism and education to families and residents of the
estuary. Many first time as well as “seasoned” scallop searchers
commented on the exciting bay wildlife they see under the water during
the event. Even if a search team does not find their elusive scallop
prey, fun is always had by all.
Bay scallops are secretive bivalves in the same family as clams and
oysters. They may reach a shell size of two inches and spend most of
their short 12 to 18 month life span hiding in sea grasses of waters
like Tampa Bay. Scallops are filter feeders, therefore they are highly
sensitive to changes in water quality and can be used to measure an
ecosystem’s health and signal changes in water quality. Bay scallops
are vulnerable to changes in water temperature and salinity. Adult bay
scallops can pump as much as 15.5 quarts of water per hour. Tampa Bay
Watch, Mote Marine Laboratory and the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation are working to increase the bay scallops in our area by
raising scallops in laboratories and releasing the juveniles into the
Bay. Although bay scallops are edible, it is illegal to harvest
scallops in Tampa Bay in order for restoration efforts to be successful.
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