#3: SCALLOPING IS A FAMILY AFFAIR

Scalloping can be the greatest thing going on in the water during July, August, and the first 10 days of September, but in order to have the most fun you must know how ,where, when and what the laws are. Scallop season for 2008 opens on July1st, by the 4th there will be so many boats over the scallop beds that you can almost walk from one to the other. After that every weekend the waters of the west coast of Florida will be covered with boats. The allowable area runs are from the Pasco/Hernando county line near Aripeka, latitude 28 degrees, 26.016 minutes north to the west bank of the Mexico Beach canal in Bay County Longitude 85 degrees, 25.84 minutes west.

Any bay scallops harvested must be landed within the allowable area. It is important to remember that the allowable amount is no more then 10 GALLONS WHOLE SCALLOPS PER VESSEL or 2 GALLONS PER PERSON. This means that if you have 6 people on board you can only harvest a maximum amount of 10 gallons. Remember-- a salt water fishing license is required for every angler 16 and older except Florida residents 65 and older. Now that you know where you harvest them, you know your bag limit, and you know when, all you need to know is how. Most of the time a boat is required, whether you have your own boat or hire one of many local charter guides like SCALES N TALES CHARTERS. Be sure your boat is in good running condition and that you have all your required safety equipment on board.

There are a few places in the allowable area that you can wade, be sure to wear water shoes to protect your feet. One of the wade areas I know of is Hagen's Cove on the Taylor County coast. Most of the time scallops are found in 2 ½ to 4 ½ feet of water. For those scalloping from a boat, remember a dive ladder is necessary to exit and enter the boat safely. You need a mask, snorkel, a pair of fins and a dive bag for every person planning on scalloping. You must be a strong swimmer; sometimes the current is very swift. It is advisable for those teaching their children to scallop not to put them in the water if they are not strong swimmers. Also you may wish to start in the shallow water and watch your tides, as the tide comes in the water gets deeper. Important: A dive flag is required on every vessel and must be displayed where it is visible 360 degrees in all directions, this means at the highest point above anything else on your boat, not tied to your stern light. An easy way to display it is using a piece of 1” PVC attaching your flag to it. PVC is available at most hardware stores and comes in 10 ft. lengths which is plenty high to display it above your bimini top. The flag must be of required measurements of 20” x 24” when you are diving from a vessel and 12” x 12” when you are going from shore. You can buy a flag at Wal-Mart, any dive shop, and most marinas. You must stay within a 300’ area of your boat. When entering an area where divers are in the water you must maintain idle speed when you are within 300’ of a dive flag displayed on a vessel. When you move and your vessel is underway your flag must be taken down and only displayed when you have divers in the water.

When you are in the water it is a great idea to raise your head up and see where your own boat is periodically, many times I have had people come up by my boat thinking it is theirs and be 600 or more yards from theirs. Should you get into trouble try to hail someone for help. A good idea and very inexpensive is to buy a toy whistle and hang around your neck, just be sure the little ball in the whistle is plastic and not a bean, the bean is useless when it gets wet. If you are in distress blow the whistle until help comes to your aide. Be sure you have a good anchor and plenty of anchor rope so you can get a good angle on the anchor. It is advisable to check your anchor when you get into the water and make sure it has dug in, if not, take your foot and push it into the sand. This is important so your boat doesn’t leave you if the anchor breaks loose.

If you are already an experienced scalloper you would be doing a service for all of us to share some of this information with the novice and first time scallopers. Many people are dangerous to themselves and to the rest of us because of lack of knowledge of the waters, rules, and regulations. Let’s all help them be safer boaters and scallopers. Each year more and more scallopers hit the waters and it is a madhouse on the weekends. With only a few weeks left until it opens it is time to start checking your equipment and making sure it is safe and reliable to use. Check your mask straps, put on the mask and see if you have any air leaks, you can do this by trying to inhale through your nose, if you can pull air through the sides of the mask check to see why. Your mask may need replacing. Same for your snorkel and fins. I have seen many people have to sit it out on the boat because of equipment failure. Another thing to put some serious thought into is getting yourself a SEA-TOW membership; one tow can cost you more than the year’s membership which is only $149 per year. You can pick up an application at most marinas or call SEA-TOW at 1-800-4-Sea Tow. They will be happy to take your application by phone and you can use a Master Card or Visa. Cleaning your catch can also be fun, especially if you are in one of the local campgrounds. Others are usually happy to lend you the advice of the dos and don’ts of scallop cleaning. Many areas have local people that will be happy to make a few dollars by cleaning them for you. Usually they will have their phone numbers posted around local convenience stores, marinas and campgrounds.

Now for locating the scallops, if they are plentiful you can see many boats parked in the area of scallop beds. Although you may also run into the monkey see monkey do situation, one or two boats try an area and before you know it there are a hundred boats. Another way to find them is to go to the grass flats and idle as slow as the boat will go and have your party look into the water for them. If you begin to see a few anchor and try that spot. If they are scarce load up and move a few hundred feet. Another way of finding them is to invest a little money into a guide to take you on his boat and show you where to go. Most guides that take out scallopers spend a lot of time on the water in June scouting for scallops and storing the numbers (spots) into their GPS. Please do not call us and ask us to give you our numbers, they are our livelihood and are not to share. Also do not consider trying to bring your handheld GPS aboard our vessels, we will ask you to leave it in your car. We will be sure you get your limit and it is easy to find the spot again.

If you have any questions about the state laws governing scalloping or fishing you may call the FWC hotline, Division of Law Enforcement toll free at 1-888-404-3922. In an emergency use this number, if you see anyone committing a violation use that number or call on your cell phone *FWC, *392 or hail a FWC officer on VHF channel 16. Please remember that ch.16 is an emergency channel for hail and distress; please take your idle chit chat to another working channel. Some areas use ch.68. In N.W. Florida most go to 14 or 18. Captain Rick Moseley operates SCALES N TALES CHARTERS out of Keaton Beach and Crystal River and is a U.S.C.G. licensed Master Captain. I am also a member of Florida Guides Association, a member of the National Association of Charter Boat Operators, and an IGFA designated Certified Captain. I can be reached by telephone at Keaton Beach 850-578-2627 or Crystal River 352-628-3392. Please note that we Scallop in the Keaton and Dekle area only. You may e-mail me at RUFFINIT2@GMAIL.COM