Tampa Bay Watch Scallop Search, 2020

Attention boaters, registration is open for the Scallop SearchIt’s time to wear a different kind of mask!

Tampa Bay Watch aims to recruit volunteer boaters to snorkel selected sites within Boca Ciega and Lower Tampa Bay for the elusive bay scallops. This year’s Scallop Search will be do-it-yourself from August 15 -23 due to COVID-19. The goal of the Great Bay Scallop Search is to monitor and document the health and status of the bay scallop population. Read more about the Scallop Search. We mainly recruit volunteers with shallow draft boats, but have limited spots for canoes and kayaks. This year we will not register volunteer snorkelers who do not have boats due to the pandemic. At each site, a weighted transect line 50 meters in length is laid along seagrass beds. Snorkelers count scallops along each side of the transect line, within one meter of each side, creating a 100 square meter survey area. Sign up fast for this free event, and help us tally up the bay scallop population in Tampa Bay! Register your boat | Register your canoe or kayak