SCOOPING UP FLORIDA SCALLOPS

Each year thousands of recreational anglers descend on the Florida Gulf Coast in search of tasty scallops. Hunting down bay scallops along this quiet section of old Florida, is a unique activity that the entire family can enjoy — and 2011 is shaping up to be an excellent season.

In most areas, the 2011 bay scallop population survey conducted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission shows a significant increase in the number of scallops compared to last year. And when compared to the previous 10 years, 2011 ranks as one of the best.

The bay scallop is as interesting a creature as it is tasty. The scallop is said to have 36 blue eyes, but if you take the time to count, you will find some with many more. As you snorkel along in the shallow water on a sunny day, you'll spot the neon-blue eyes as the scallop hides in the grass. You have to be quick, as the scallop tries to retreat.

Watching a scallop try to get away or just swim by is one of the most comical sights you will see in the water. They just don't look like they are made to swim, but somehow they manage. Using a very effective water jet, the small mollusks propel themselves through the water but find maintaining directional control a bit of a challenge. Graceful... no, but effective, yes.

Scallops live for 12 to 18 months and spend most of their life hidden in the grassy bottom, filter-feeding on plankton. As the water warms, their growth rate accelerates and they begin to move higher in the grass making them more visible. Scallops have the unique ability to develop both male and female organs and can lay well over one million eggs during the fall, but only a small percentage live long enough to become full-grown adults.