Evaluating the Impact of Recreational Harvest and Management Strategies for Bay Scallops Argopecten irradians concentricus in a Florida Gulf Coast Management Zone

Abstract

Since 1994, the fishery for bay scallops Argopecten irradians concentricus in Florida has been limited to a recreational fishery that operates during the summer, before the spawning season in fall. Recent growth of the fishery necessitates a study of the effect of this increased exploitation on the bay scallop population. The study focused on one management zone, centered on the community of Steinhatchee, that is known for high rates of exploitation. Within this zone, we created a model of bay scallop harvest using fishery-independent and fishery-dependent survey methods and evaluated the risk of extirpation of the stock. We found that the fishery in the zone functions as a derby, with most harvest effort occurring when the season opens, followed by a steady decline throughout the season. Effort estimates suggest that 21,579 vessels, or 82,398 people, from 94% of Florida's counties and 16 other states participated in the 2018 season in the Steinhatchee zone. The influx of harvesters generated approximately US$1.8 million in revenue for this small coastal community and resulted in an estimated fishing mortality of 57-72% of the population in the zone. The exploitation rate of the fishery in 2018 exceeded 0.4, suggesting that the fishery may be unable to sustain itself under current conditions. We evaluated management strategies and found that the bay scallop

Settlement of the Bay Scallop (Argopecten irradians) along the Gulf Coast of Florida

“…Additionally, a 16-day extended early season harvest in Steinhatchee features a 1-gallon bag limit and the newly opened harvest area in Pasco County grants a 37-day season with a full 2-gallon limit (FWC rules history accessed July 2023, https://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/ rulemaking/history/a-g/). Continued studies of the recreational fishery (Granneman et al 2021), long-term restoration efforts, and responsive or proactive management decisions will all be required to help this restored saltwater fishery species remain a success story.…”

“…Recreational harvest efforts have increased from an estimated 5,143 vessels per year in 2000–2002 (Greenawalt et al 2004) to 21,579 vessels in 2018 in the Steinhatchee site (Granneman et al 2021) and similar increases have probably occurred throughout the region occupied by the core. Recent actions by the FWC, the agency in charge of regulating the harvest of bay scallops, included severe restrictions (2-wk season and a reduced limit of 40 scallops per person) in St. Joseph Bay after a red tide (2015) and subsequent recruit failure (2015–2016).…”

“…This fishery persisted for a decade and later began to grow and spread across the core in the 2000s as the scallop population increased along the coast, densities recovered, and tourism focused on developing this fishery. Recent significant increases in harvest pressure have been observed (Granneman et al 2021), leading to concern over the ability of the stock to sustain this pressure.…”

Environmental Drivers of Bay Scallop (Argopecten irradians concentricus) Abundance along the Florida Gulf Coast

“…There were no environmental factors in the summer that were found to significantly influence scallop abundance in this study. The recreational harvest season for scallops occurs during the summer, at which time fishing mortality can exceed natural mortality (Granneman et al 2021), suggesting that the effects of harvesting may outweigh the impacts of environmental factors during the summer. Additional fall abundance data and the incorporation of reproduction and recruitment dynamics could help to further define the relative influences of fishing mortality and environmental factors by assessing the change in impacts from summer through fall into winter.…”

Examining the performance of alternative harvest regulations for short-lived taxa: A case study of Florida Bay scallop management

“…The goals of this work are to evaluate current and alternative management strategies for managing this species and provide applicable management advice to a local fishery. We address these goals by building upon the initial empirical work done by Granneman et al (2021), developing a simulation model representing a local Florida bay scallop fishery, and discussing the implications our results have for trade-offs between current harvest regulations, like bag and season limits, and similar regulations tweaked to be more biologically-informed by considering the life history schedule.…”