NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — The recreational bay scallop harvest in the Gulf of Mexico off the Pasco County coastline will reopen Wednesday, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Last month, Florida wildlife officials paused scalloping in the Pasco Zone after detecting high levels of the saxitoxin neurotoxin and Pyrodinium bahamense algae in the water. The closure affected 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 FWC said toxin and algae levels have returned to safe levels based on safety thresholds established by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program.
“We appreciate the community’s patience with the closure while we carefully monitored toxin levels in the Pasco Zone. Public safety is our top priority, and we wanted to ensure that levels dropped below the safety threshold before we considered reopening the season," FWC Executive Director Roger Young said in a statement. "We are excited to give back all the season days ahead of Labor Day weekend and encourage you and your family to enjoy Florida’s beautiful outdoors."
Out of an abundance of caution, officials recommend only consuming the scallop muscle and not the roe or whole scallop as they continue to monitor scallop and water samples.
Scalloping in the Pasco Zone typically runs from July 10 through Aug. 18. This year, Florida wildlife officials extended the scallop season through Sept. 24 due to the temporary closure.