Scallop Season

Dig our your mask, snorkel and fins, load the kids in the station wagon, and head north. Bay scallop season is finally here!

These tasty crustaceans, when cleaned and sauteed make a fine pasta dish, are one of Florida's most underrated sea foods. Almost anybody can learn how to catch them. yes, catch. Scallops do swim.

The season runs July 1 through September 10. The open are extends from the Pasco-Hernando county line t( near Aripeka) to the west bank of the Mexico Beach Canal in Bay County. But be forewarned - you can't put your boat in the water in Pasco, head north, scallop, and then land your goods back at the dock.

Recreational scallopers are limited to two two gallons of whole scallops in the shell (that sounds like a lot, but once your clean them, you will realized it is not) or one pint of meat per day.

The only way to snatch these critters is by hand (while swimming or snorkeling) or with a landing or dip net.

My favorite method is to snorkel the grass beds in four to six feet of water with a net bag hanging off my side. When you spot a scallop, dive down, but be careful, they have hundreds of little purple eyes and if they spot you, they will try to swim away.

Don't forget the bag. I remember a gentleman who once left his at home so he stuffed the scallops down his swim trucks, not a good idea since their shells can open and close. Ouch!

For more information go to myfwc.

Backyard campout

Turn off the TV, iPod, Wiis, cell phone, MP3 player, computer, laptop, blackberry, whatever...and hit the great outdoors. You don't need to travel to Yellowstone National Park, or Jellystone if you are looking for Yogi Bear, to get a little wild.

Today is the great American Backyard Campout and last year on this day more than 42,000 Americans spent the night outdoors, roasting marshmallows, making s'mores, telling ghost stories and all the other things usually reserved for the wilderness.

Come on, give it a try. Too many kids today are suffering from what author Richard Louv calls "nature deficit disorder." Research shows that the average kid spends about 44 hours a week looking at some kind of electronic screen.

This is a serious problem. I've had kids in my cub scout troop whip out game boys (or whatever they are called these days) and start playing as they sit around the campfire.

Few would argue that kids today are disconnected from nature. This can lead to a weaker immune system, greater dependency on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder drugs, loss of creativity, and in general, a less fulfilling life. So take the first step tonight. Drag the kids outdoors, listen to the tree frogs and look at the stars, and you will be glad you did.

Overfished verses overfihsing

The National Marine Fisheries Service announced today that showed that seven species of fish are no longer undergoing "overfishing" and no new species have been added to that list. But the annual report received mixed reviews from environmental group.

"Today's report provides a partial picture of the health of America's Oceans," Bruce Steadman, Executive Director of the Marine Fish Conservation Network. stated in a press release to the media.

Of the nation's 530 species of marine fish, only 62 percent are undergoing "overfishing," and 72 percent are "overfished," according to the press release.

Ovefished? Overfishing? What's the difference.

It is confusing," said Tom Wheatley, the local representative for the conservation group. "Undergoing overfishing refers to the rate at which fish are caught. Overfished refers to the stock or biomass, or in other word, how many fish are in left in the sea."

While this year's report documents modest success when it comes to overfishing, the Marine Fish Conservation Network , sees little progress in restoring overfished populations. Here in the GUlf of Mexico, red snapper and greater amberjack are considered overfished, while gray triggerfish and gag grouper are "subject to ovefishing."

For more information, got to conservefish.

Times photo - Bill Serne

Florida anglers worth millions

A recent study by the National Ocean Economics Program has revealed some interesting facts about Florida's fisheries.

In 1990, commercial fishing contributed $247 million to the state's economy. But by 2007, that figure had dropped to $143 million. recreational anglers in comparison, contributed Three Billion Dollars to the state's economy. Yes, that is billion with a "B".

Florida is the undisputed heavyweight champ of recreational fishing nationwide. But up until now, it has been difficult to quantify the impact the state's millions of resident and visiting anglers have on Florida's economy.

The commercial fishing industry has played, and hopefully, will continue to play, a vital role in the state's economy. But give the sport fishermen credit too. Many feel that fishery managers, both federal and state, underestimate the value of recreational sector. And as a result, do not consider the economic impact regulations, such as those proposed for gag grouper, will have On the health of the economy.

Perhaps now they will take notice.

Lightning kills

Two brothers from DeFuniak Springs died Sunday after their 14-foot jon boat was caught in a summer squall on Panhandle's Choctawhatchee Bay.

"Investigators found two life jackets in their swamped boat," said Stan Kirkland of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "We are waiting for a report from the medical examiner but it appears that lighting may have played a role."

The brothers, 17-year-old Logan Alford and 21-year-old Lucas Alford, were fishing when a thunderstorm rolled through late in the afternoon. Investigators suspect the boys may have tried to cross the bay during the squall.

During this time of the year, storms can form quickly over open water. If you see storm clouds approaching, head for a safe harbor long before you see the first signs of lighting. Plan you boating for the morning or early afternoon, before the thunderclouds have a chance to form. The last place you want to be in an electrical storm is out on the bay in an aluminum boat.

New grouper proposal

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has recommended that recreational and commercial fishermen catch about 25 percent fewer gag grouper. This, combined with reduced fishing effort due to skyrocketing fuel prices, should result in an actual 40 percent reduction.

Sportfishermen have been up in arms over the proposed regulations and joined forces with their counterparts in the commercial sector, vowing to fight the new rules in court if necessary.

If a approved, the new rules would reduce the recreational aggregate bag limit for grouper from five to four fish per angler. Of those four fish, two may be red grouper and two may be gag.

While many anglers say they can live with a one fish reduction, almost all are universally opposed to a two month closed season. The new rules, which will be put into effect after a final public hearing in Key Largo later this summer, will shut down all grouper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico from Feb. 1 though March 31, the height of the tourist season.

For more information, go to the Gulf Council's website.

Paddle around the state

Sea kayakers may soon be able to completely circumnavigate the state of Florida, thanks to the hard work of the newly-formed Florida Paddling Trails Association. The organization, patterned after the highly-successful Florida Trail Association, was formed to provide stewardship for the new Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail, the same way the FTA has helped preserve and expand backpacking/hiking trial that runs from Big Cypress to the tip of Florida Panhandle.

Florida is a sea kayakers dream. Unlike most  states, Florida has year-round paddling. Regardless of season, paddlers can explore a variety of habitats, be they mangrove-lined estuaries, deserted barrier islands or pristine, sugar sand beaches.

The trail,once completed, will offer campsites spaced a day paddle apart, which makes is easy for everybody from beginner's to experts to plan an on-the-water adventure.

Membership in this worthy organization start at $25 for the individual and range up to $1,000 for a lifetime card.For more information, contact Han Brooks at hbrooks@floridapaddlingtrails.com.

Tagged tarpon

Boca Grande's Professional Tarpon Tour has teamed up with the University of Miami's Rosentiel School of Marine Science's Bonefish and Tarpon Research Center to successfully tag and release 20 tarpon.

In the final days of the tournament series, anglers and members of the Florida Guides Association to equip four tagged tarpon with satellite Pop-up Archival Tags (PAT). The fish, which ranged in size from 150 to 190 pounds, will travel along their way until Sept 25, when the tags will automatically pop up and transmit the recorded data to researchers

The 16 remaining fish were equipped with conventional tags and a fin clip taken as part of an ongoing study by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Research Institute in St. Petersburg.

Since the program's inception in 2001, a total of 55 tarpon have been equipped with PATs in the Southeast U.S., Mexico,  Trinidad, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. The PATs record water temperature, depth, light level, and time every 10 seconds.

Anglers who land a tagged tarpon are asked to leave the tag in the fish, record the tag number, location caught, and length and girth of the fish. For information or to report a catch, call the research center at (888) 754-7531 or on line at tarpon research.http://www.bonefishresearch.com/

Don't feed the pelicans

Starting July 1, fishermen could find themselves on the wrong side of the law for feeding pelicans. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has passed a new rule the prohibits the intentional feeding of brown pelicans.

Brown pelicans, the bird with the big bill you see begging for bait around fish cleaning tables, apparently get so used to handouts from fishermen that they forget out to survive in their natural environment.

"They are wild birds," said FWC spokeswoman Karen Parker. "We want them to stay wild.

The FWC won't be handing out tickets any time soon. For the first six months, FWC officers will focus on education and target the big fish houses, commercial and charter boats that discharge large quantities of scraps into the water.

"It can get to be a problem because these birds start to count on handouts from humans," Parker said. "We want this practice to start."

Parker said the new rule was not intended to stop the "the occasional or casual" feeding of pelicans. "We are not going to be handing out tickets to little Timmy and his grandpa when they are out fishing," she said.

For more information on this rule, go to myfwc.

Albino tarpon

Ed Walker has seen a lot of crazy things on the water in his 20 years as a fishing guide. But this week he thought his eyes were paying tricks on him.

The Pasco County charter boat captain was fishing for tarpon near Venice when he spotted something strange in the water. "I thought it was a shark, but it wasn't bothering the fish," he said.

About an hour later, working another school of fish, Walker and three customers hooked up again, this time the fish jumped out of the water.

"It was a tarpon but its back and most of its body was orange, bright orange," he said. "I'm not talking abut a light tint, I mean fluorescent, bright as neon, orange."

Walker contacted Kathryn Guindon, the state's tarpon guru at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, who informed that the perplexed captain that what he had witnessed was an albino tarpon.

On May 20, 1936, a woman named Olivia Kuser of Titusville, N.J., caught a similarly-colored fish in Boca Grande Pass. The tarpon, which measured 3 feet 9 inches long and weighed 27 pounds, now hangs in the Hall of Fishes at the Museum of Natural History in New York City.

"It is not your typical albino with white pigmentation and red eyes," Guindon said. "It has red to orange pigment and black spots, similar to those you see on the tail of a redfish."

Pygmy killer whales

Two pygmy killer whales, seldom found in near shore waters, have been taken to Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota on Monday after stranding in Boca Grande Pass. One of the whales was found swimming in the mangroves; the second beached itself nearby.

It has been ten years since Mote scientists encountered this species of whale. The last time pygmy killer whales, which are black and typically no more than eight feet in length, the animals suffered from a brain parasite.

The whales, which are usually found in groups of several dozen, are sometimes called blackfish by offshore fishermen. Anglers in deep water, particularly off the Dry Tortugas, often lose their catch to these open-ocean predators.

Mote Chief Veterinarian, Dr. Charles Manire, reports that both animals are weak and have needed assistance in the water since arriving at Mote's Dolphin and Whale Hospital. The whales, which have been nicknamed Pete and Dallas, have been given fluids and antibiotics. To follow their progress, go to Mote.

(Photo courtesy Mote Marine Laboratory)

Appalachicola gets national honors

The Apalachicola Paddling Trail System, located in Franklin County, is one of 24 rivers named by the Secretary of the Interior as a National Recreation Trail.

The river, which runs 112 miles from the Georgia border to the Gulf of Mexico, is one of Florida's truly great paddles. A few years ago, some friends and I ran the entire river, waking up one morning to find ice on our boats. Read more about it here.

The country is wild and unspoiled, a rarity in a state that suffers from unbridled development. The network of trails, encompassing more than 100 miles accessible to boaters, canoeists and kayakers, has a little something for everybody. Trails range in length from 2 miles to a full-day, 16-mile adventure, or if you have the fortitude, try a two- or three-day paddle.

The paddling trail system was also named by the American Canoe Association nd Paddler Magazine as one of the top 12 paddles in the the United States. To get a free copy of the Apalachicola Paddling Trail System map, call 1-850-488-5520 or go to MyFWC.com.

About he photo: Paddlers navigate through the fog on a chilly morning on the Apalachicola River. Photo - Doug Clifford.

Anglers sign here

A proposal by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency that ultimately governs our nations saltwater fisheries, wants to register all saltwater anglers beginning in 2009.

This measure is sure to face stiff opposition from many sportfishing groups which see angler registration as the first step towards angler licensing. Here in Florida, saltwater fishermen have had a license for more than a decade. But in other states, requiring a license to fish in the ocean is seen as un-American.

Anglers, however, have nothing to fear. An angler registry would help federal fishery managers keep track of the recreational catch. Right now, biologists must rely on blind telephone calls and dockside intercepts to see how many fish anglers really catch.

This system is hit or miss at best. Well, to be quite honest, most anglers believe it is mostly miss.

If federal officials had better numbers, perhaps recreational fishermen would get a greater share of the total allowable catch (TAC). This would prove particularly interesting here on the Gulf Coast where recreational and commercial fishermen have had an adversarial relationship for decades.

More information will be available in coming months. Stay tuned.