- April 19, 2024
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Sarasota Bay Watch founders Rusty Chinnis and John Ryan and current President Larry Stults
The Sarasota Bay Watch held its 9th annual Scallop Search on Aug. 13.
The Sarasota Bay Watch held its 9th annual Scallop Search on Aug. 13.
Heather Hurley, Carson Hurley, 14, Ben Hershfeld, 15, and Wendy Conn
Susie and Greg Vine and Larry Stults.
Past president Jeff Birnbach, Elizabeth Jeffrey, 13, Logan Giasson, 13, and board member Al Jeffrey
Lila Saarinen, 9, Jude Saarinen, 6, and Liliana Janneman, 9, with Emily Saarinen, Justin Saarinen, and Rene Janneman in back.
Rebecca Hoesterey and Constance Sartor, both 20
Sarasota Bay Watch President Larry Stults gives the scallop searchers instructions.
Sarasota Bay Watch President Larry Stults gives the scallop searchers instructions.
Ronda Ryan demonstrates how to set up the equipment used for searching.
Mia Russica, 5, with mom Karen, and brothers, Sam, 10, and Gabe, 8.
Maggie Oberst and Susan Harris
Diana Giasson and Leslie Jeffrey
Tara Goldstein and Peter Peduzzi
David Campbell and Jennifer Schafer search for scallops.
Volunteers searched for scallops during the annual Sarasota Bay Watch Scallop Search on Aug. 13.
David Schafer, John Hoover and Jill Campbell
Jennifer Schafer holds a scallop shell she found.
Jennifer Schafer searches for scallops during the annual Scallop Search. Aside from scallops, volunteers saw starfish, stingray and other shells.
Robin Callahan, a four year veteran of the scallop search, pulls a rope out to section off the area she is searching.
Greg Vine gets ready to search for scallops.
Park Dietz, 15, with dad, Pepper
Todd Morton gets ready to move searching spots while his sons help from the boat.
Will Morton, 16, with brother, Rhett, 10
Rene Janneman pulls his group’s rope out of the water before searching other areas of the bay.
Rene Janneman holds a scallop he found while searching the bay.
Tira VanDenhoek, 11, and Amber Whittle
Asher VanDenhoek, 9, and Corey VanDenhoek
Asher VanDenhoek, 9, and Corey VanDenhoek kayak around the bay during the scallop search.
Volunteers could search the bay using kayaks, boats or other vessels. Each vessel was assigned two sectors to search.
Volunteers snorkel around the bay looking for live scallops. If found, the live scallops are not taken out of the water.
Taylor Stice, 10, jumps off the boat during the annual scallop search.
Yvonne Stice and Johno Kovach
Sarasota Sailing Squadron hosted the event this year due to Mar Vista’s construction.
Dave Schafer, Jeff Birnbach, Larry Stults, Ronda Ryan, Ellie Martin and John Hoover
When it comes to monitoring the water quality and ecosystem of Sarasota Bay, scientists look to scallops as indicators of the bay’s overall health.
Historical trends show that scallops were widely present in the bay until humans started developing the land around it, according to Sarasota Bay Watch President Larry Stults.
That’s why the group’s annual scallop search is so important. It’s a way to help scientists monitor the local scallop population while also bringing people closer to the water.
“It’s a way to get a face in the water and get an intimate connection with the bay,” Stults said.
On Aug. 13, Sarasota Bay Watch hosted its eighth annual scallop search at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron.
At 9 a.m., volunteers departed in their boats. For the next three hours, about 140 people dove, snorkeled and swam to seek out the bivalve mollusks that live amongst the seagrass on the bottom of the bay.
Before volunteers left to search, Stults warned that not everyone would find a scallop, although he said participants still might see creatures like crabs, starfish and stingrays.
When participants returned, they enjoyed lunch while sharing what they found in the water.
In years past, the event was held at Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub, but due to construction at the restaurant, the Sailing Squadron hosted it.
When volunteers found live scallops while snorkeling around the bay, they simply counted them and left them undisturbed during the no-harvest event.
Although volunteers found eight live scallops — down from 31 in 2015 and 40 in 2014 — Sarasota Bay Watch Program Director Ronda Ryan said multiple factors could explain the low count. There was a bout with red tide last year, and the water was murky due to recent rain.
Since the first scallop search in 2008, the group has seen the health of the bay improve, according to co-founder Rusty Chinnis. Over the last four years, Sarasota Bay Watch has placed 80 million larvae in the bay, in addition to 120,000 juvenile scallops.
Sarasota Bay Watch is now in its sixth year of its 10-year restoration initiative.
Stults said volunteers at the event share a common passion: protecting the bay.
“They really come together around our natural environment,” he said.
