Spectacular Scallops: Harvesting Season & Scrumptious Seafood
Scalloping season is swiftly approaching. In Crystal River, Homosassa, and Steinhatchee, Florida, you can don your snorkel from July 1st to September 24th and catch your own dinner! Scalloping is a great pastime for adults and kiddos alike and makes for a fun afternoon and deliciously fresh seafood experience.
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s dive in and get to scallop hunting! (Not to be confused with scalp hunting. That’s VERY different.)
Bay Scallops
Before you can actually start your scallop search, it’d probably be helpful to know what you’re looking for. Luckily, scallops are pretty recognizable!
In Crystal River, Homosassa, and Steinhatchee – which are our prime scalloping locations today – you’ll be looking for a clam-like critter with a ridged, rounded shell. This shell is one of the most popular for seaside-themed décor and business logos – just think of a Shell gas station, and you’re picturing a scallop! (If you play Animal Crossing, scallops are what you trade with Pascal the otter – “it’s a gooood day!”)
To be really specific, the ones we’re hunting are bay scallops. (Not to be mistaken with their larger, smooth-shelled cousin, the Atlantic sea scallop.) Bay scallops like hanging out in shallow, seagrass beds along Florida’s Gulf Coast. They’re bivalves, which is just a fancy way of saying they have two shells.
If you’ve only experienced them on a dinner plate, then you might be surprised at how fascinating they are in the wild. There’s a bit more to catching them than just scooping them out of the seagrass; with 20 pairs of tiny, blue eyes around the edge of their shells, these little guys can easily sense predators and clap their shells together, in castanet style, to zoom away in a zig-zag pattern.1 You’ve got to be quick to catch this mollusk! (Oh, and be careful not to put your finger between the shells – they’re surprisingly pinchy!)
Scalloping Supplies
We’re almost ready to chase those swift, little scallops, but first, here’s a nifty checklist for hunting day!
While scalloping isn’t too intensive – like we said, it’s fine for kiddos! – there are a few things you’ll need.
- Snorkel, fins, and mask
- Mesh bag (for holding your catch as you swim)
- Cooler (for keeping scallops cold. . .and maybe some root beer or cream sodas, too)
- Sunscreen
- Drinking water
- Florida saltwater fishing license
- Local guide
Because scalloping is considered a form of fishing, you will need to get a fishing license to legally take home your catch (long term resident and short-term nonresident options are available), or you can hire a local guide who is a licensed Captain, in which case, you won’t need your own license.2
Hiring a Captain is also a great option because they’ll know the best places to find scallops, provide you with a boat (and oftentimes a cooler), and can answer any burning scallop-related questions you may have!
(There are numerous scallop charters to choose from in Crystal River, Homosassa, and Steinhatchee!)
Harvest Time
Scalloping season dates vary depending upon location, but for Crystal River, Homosassa, and Steinhatchee, the 2021 season lasts almost three full months (July 1st – September 24th), providing plenty of opportunity for some mid-to-late summer fun!3
The waters for bay scallop hunting are generally pretty shallow, ranging from 2 to 7 feet deep. When you jump in the water, it’s a bit like an Easter egg hunt as you search through the gently waving seagrass for this shelled mollusk. One way to spot them is to look for a bunch of blue eyes, glowing like an itty-bitty movie marquee.4
As you stash caught scallops into your mesh bag, you might notice shimmering fish swimming alongside you, and, if you’re fortunate, maybe even a sea turtle!5 There’s plenty of awesome Gulf wildlife to see while scalloping.
When the sun starts to go down, or when you’ve reached your scallop limit for the day (2 gallons of scallops – still in the shell – per person), it’s time to start thinking about dinner. . .
Scallop Cleaning
But before you can start cooking, the scallops need to be cleaned.
With a little know-how, you can pry them open yourself and remove the meat with an oyster knife, being sure to remove the frill and black stomach sack. This can be done on the water or when you get back to shore. There is one distinct advantage to waiting: when placed on ice in the cooler, scallops quickly perish, relaxing the muscle that holds the shells together, making them easier to open than if you try cleaning them right away.6
(Check out this step-by-step scallop cleaning guide – with pictures!)
If the thought of cleaning your own scallop makes you a little squeamish, not to worry! In Homosassa, there are usually folks around the fish-cleaning stations (around the boat ramps) who offer to do it for a small fee. In Crystal River, several places in the area (including hotels like Best Western and The Plantation) actually offer scallop cleaning services! Sometimes charter Captains also help with scallop cleaning.
On a side note, we recommend saving some of your scallop shells as a souvenir of your trip or for crafting purposes.
The Best Part of Scallop Hunting Day
There are so many ways to prepare scallops, and each recipe sounds tastier than last – seared scallops, scallops in pasta, crispy-breaded baked scallops! You really can’t go wrong when you choose to chow down on some fresh Florida seafood.
It’s best to cook up your scallops on catch day, as they’ll taste better that way, If not only keep them in the fridge for one to two days. However, if you went scalloping with the entire fam and had a really big haul, you might not be able to eat all of them. And that’s okay – scallops can be kept in the freezer for around three months!7
While eating scallops on catch day is definitely the best option, after a long day of snorkeling, the last thing you’ll probably want to do is stand over a hot stove. Well, guess what? You can have your scallops and take a breather, too!
Several restaurants around Crystal River, Homosassa, and Steinhatchee will cook your catch for you! (Just call ahead, so they’re prepared to receive your scallops.)
In Crystal River, you can head over to Charlie’s Fish House, which has been serving up seafood on the waterfront since the 1950s, or The Crab Plant, whose specialty is serving up the freshest seafood ever. (And it doesn’t get any fresher than self-caught!)
If you’ve been scalloping in Homosassa, you can have your catch cooked up by Chef Wallace at Wallace’s at the Greenhouse or at the Freezer Tiki Bar, a local favorite that’s been voted one of Florida’s top ten hole-in-the-wall places for amazing seafood.
And over in Steinhatchee, Roy’s Restaurant will prepare your scallops to perfection as you gaze across the sparkling Gulf of Mexico.
There’s no better way to end an amazing scallop hunting day than taking a mouth-watering bite of a buttery-good scallop. Oh, and for the record, we should mention that these bay scallops are the best – they might be smaller than sea scallops (we prefer “perfectly bite-sized”) – but they’re also sweeter and more tender. So, whether you cook them yourself or take your catch to a local restaurant, you’re in for a real treat!
Have you tried scallop hunting? Let us know in the comments below!
Happy scalloping!
Cover Image
Photo: GPA Photo Archive via Flickr
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