Scallop season in Pasco County on hold after toxins detected, FWC says

HOLIDAY, Fla. - Captain Vic Crosby likes to put his boat in the water at Anclote River Park in Pasco County around 6:30 a.m. during scallop season.

"If you get here later than that, you’re not going to have a parking spot," Crosby, the owner of Snook Sniper Backwater Adventures, said.

Wednesday, though, may have been his last scalloping charter for the season.

"It was a shock to us how well the season was going, like I said, for everyone in our economy, local economy, and then to just get shut down literally overnight and left kind of in limbo," Crosby said.

Florida Fish and Wildlife temporarily suspended scallop season in Pasco on Wednesday after detecting toxins produced by algal blooms. The area affected includes all state waters south of the Hernando-Pasco County line, and north of the Anclote Key Lighthouse in northern Pinellas County.

The FWC detected saxitoxin and Pyrodinium bahamense exceeding shellfish sanitation levels established by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program. Both regularly bloom in Florida coastal waters during the summer. FWC take water samples looking for both as well from the area regularly.

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The toxins can build up in shellfish and can make humans sick if they eat contaminated scallops, FWC says.

It can cause Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning and symptoms like vomiting, loss of body movement, incoherent speech and dizziness. Symptoms can start as soon as 15 minutes after ingestion, but can also happen up to 10 hours after ingestion. People can be sick from 12 hours to 45 days in extreme cases, the FWC says.

The FWC says if you’re experiencing symptoms of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, call your doctor and reach out to the Florida Poison Control Hotline at 1-800-222-1222.

"Other guys, such as myself, this is our full-time job. So, when this hits, it puts a stop on everything. You know, our income is pretty much cut. So now I'm going to have to re-gear and start offering fishing, gigging, boat fishing charters back and try to build that income back up and deal with the heat and slow fishing until things get back to normal," Crosby said.

Crosby said while he understands the reason for the safety measure, he has already canceled 21 charters since Wednesday and is losing at least $800 a day.

"It affects everyone. The boat ramp, that's $10 a day. The local gas station. I spend several hundred dollars a week … gas, ice, drinks. We have some places that clean scallops for clients. If there are no scallops, you know, that's a supplemental income that's been lost … Airbnbs, motels," Crosby said.

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"Scalloping is a lot of people's family vacations. They travel literally cross-country. Now, they're having to cancel plans. On my end of it and a lot of the couple of other captains that run out of here, we're having to refund deposits for people that can't reschedule or don't want to do a different charter. So, it's just a big economic circle. This ends well for no one right now," he said.

Scallop season in Pasco runs from July 10 through August 18, and the FWC said it won’t be extending the season. It said it’ll reopen scalloping in Pasco after tests show levels have decreased to safe limits. Right now, though, Crosby said there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.

"Everyone had been doing really great, and now it’s coming to a halt temporarily or for the end of the season. We don’t know," he said.

The FWC says swimming, fishing and boating are still allowed in the area because the toxins are concentrated in shellfish and have to be consumed to get someone sick. The FWC says out of extreme caution, if you harvested scallops from July 22 or later in the Pasco zone, they recommend you throw them away. If you harvested scallops between July 15 and July 21, they recommend you throw those away too, or only eat the muscle.

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