Fishermen are happy over an early start of scallop harvest season due to oil spill in the Gulf. Keith Pond, a fisherman, said that they were everywhere. He was happy after picking up their daily limit of six gallons of mollusks after only three hours of snorkeling. Because of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Gov. Charlie Crist opened the annual bay scallop harvest season in Florida’s Big Bend region nearly two weeks earlier than the original July 1 date.
The season, which runs through Sept. 10 in nine Gulf counties, is recreational only; scallops may not be bought or sold. To the north, commercial oystermen are also getting a boost. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced last week that both winter and summer oyster harvesting regions in the Appalachicola Bay will be open 24 hours per day through Aug. 31.
Homosassa charter boat captain Don Chancey, wife Marla and a companion bagged a limit in a half-day of snorkeling Sunday in about five feet of water three miles offshore. Throughout the weekend, the atmosphere in Homosassa was that of holiday — not doomsday.
