Thinking about all of our friends in the big bend region. Hope everyone stays safe.

Hey scallopers! Have you noticed large areas of seagrass loss in St Joe Bay? This loss is largely the result of sea urchin grazing. You can help FWC and Florida Department of Environmental Protection plan seagrass restoration efforts by emailing us the location of any turtle grass fruits and seedlings (see photo) you see when you’re scalloping. You can email us your chartplotter location coordinates, OR, if the position function is enabled on your phone, take a picture from your boat and send it to: StJoeBayUrchins@MyFWC.com.

Friendly reminder: please do not remove any seedlings or fruits from the water, thank you!

There will be two free talks about helping these important bay organisms:
https://www.facebook.com/franklincountyfloridapubliclibrary/photos/a.393467126234/10159006811916235/

For when you are visiting the other side of the peninsula:
https://www.apalachicolareserve.com/beachcombers-id-hotline/?fbclid=IwAR2QXKKnqRha921zVnhTdCmqwrjWKlQ20sYT6treTMjpBOEd8gI4VfomXEU

A nice service provided by the Apalachicola reserve....or you could post to iNaturalist. ;)

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/96627488

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/2ec42fa

Help restore seagrass beds in the bay!
Details here:
https://www.apalachicolareserve.com/event/sea-urchin-roundup/

https://f50006a.eos-intl.net/ELIBSQL12_F50006A_Documents/Bay%20Scallops%202020.pdf
I don't know about any of you, but after a year of quarantine I sure am looking forward to coming down for scallop season this year. I am anxiously awaiting the scallop survey results. I am hopeful that they are as positive as they were last year.

No shortage of horseshoe crabs in the bay, but it is always good to help the FWC with their management efforts.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/27c736f

I haven't seen abundance survey results like this in forever!
https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/mollusc/bay-scallops/season/
Very encouraging considering all the issues in the bay as of late. Good to see the season and limit changes and other conservation measures paying off. I also can't help but wonder if the breach and subsequent influx of salt water from the hurricane helped. Let's hope this positive trend continues for a while!