The 2016 Great Bay Scallop Search is set for Saturday, August 20th 9am to 1pm.
The Great Bay Scallop Search is an annual resource monitoring event in which Tampa Bay Watch recruits volunteers to snorkel along set transect lines to search for scallops in select areas within Boca Ciega and Lower Tampa Bay. The goal of the event is to monitor and document the status of the bay scallop population. We mainly recruit volunteers with shallow draft boats, but we have limited spots for canoes and kayaks. The event can accommodate 45 volunteer boaters with more than 200 participants.
Factors that may affect the scallop population include red tide, high rainfall, and storms. Bay scallops disappeared from Tampa Bay in the early 1960s when the bay water was hghly 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 support the bay scallop population.
Why are Bay Scallops Important?
An interesting feature of the scallop is its ability to filter water. The bay scallop is a member of the shellfish family known as bivalves (for its two halves, or shells), and grows to about two inches in size. The scallop feeds continuously through its open valves by filtering small particles of algae and organic matter in the water. Scallops also breathe with their valves open and then close them when predators approach or if the water is too silty. Silt, or particles of sediment, can clog and ultimately harm the delicate gills of the scallop. Many tiny blue eyes along the outer rim of the shell detect movement near the animal and function as a warning system. Scallops can swim backwards by clapping their valves and expelling water rapidly.