NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Florida wildlife officials on Wednesday announced a temporary closure of the recreational bay scallop harvest in the Gulf of Mexico off the Pasco County coastline.
It includes all state waters south of the Pasco-Hernando county line and north of the Anclote Key Lighthouse in northern Pinellas County, including the Anclote River, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a news release.
The FWC said it detected high levels of the saxitoxin neurotoxin and Pyrodinium bahamense in the water, "exceeding the safety thresholds established by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program."
“That's a little disappointing, considering the scallops season is already not that long,”Noah Batten, who was out boating with his stepsons, said.
Batten brings the boys out to go scallop hunting every year.
He and others say the pause is unfortunate, especially for those who planned outings or even vacations around the short season.
“I mean, a lot of people will travel down here just for that. It's a tourist thing as well,” Batten said. “It's a bummer that they paused it.”
Scalloping in the Pasco Zone runs from July 10 through Aug. 18, but due to the potentially unsafe water, the season is on pause. Recreational activities, including boating, fishing and swimming, are still open, as well as scallop harvest zones in other parts of the state, including north of the Pasco-Hernando county line, according to the FWC.
Once tests show levels have reached safe limits, the zone will reopen, the agency said.
Local businesses say they are considering reaching out to FWC and Pasco County leaders asking them to extend their scallops season by the same number of days that the temporary suspension remains in place.
Scalloping safety concerns
Pyrodinium bahamense is a naturally occurring organism belonging to a group of algae, according to the FWC. They can produce the saxitoxin neurotoxins that can accumulate in shellfish and puffer fish.
These neurotoxins have no taste, smell or color and cannot be destroyed by cooking. If consumed, people can develop Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning or Saxitoxin Pufferfish Poisoning. The onset of symptoms — including numbness/tingling of the mouth and/or lips, dizziness, weakness, nausea and more — is typically rapid.
"The duration of illness, which varies from person to person, may range from 12 hours to 45 days in extreme cases," the FWC said.
10 Tampa Bay's Eric Glasser contributed to this report.