skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Scallopers Urged to Minimize Threat to Seagrass

play audio
Play

Friday, April 19, 2019   

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – As many people and businesses gear up for this year's scalloping season, they'll find a new education campaign about the importance of seagrass.

There has been an increased threat to undersea communities of seagrass that are filled with animals such as bay scallops, varieties of fish and small organisms that grow on the grass blades that other animals such as manatees feed on.

While Frank Kapocsi – president of the Homosassa River Alliance – sees each scalloping season as a major economic boon for his community and others along the Nature Coast, he's worried about the concentration of thousands of boats pulling up anchors during low tide, which usually is the best time for scallopers.

"And when you do that at low tide and you're running an outboard motor, you have a good chance of scarring the seagrass beds,” says Kapocsi. “So our concern is just how long can the seagrass beds and the scallops themselves sustain themselves with this much pressure."

For the second year, Kapocsi plans to post informational signs, targeted at inexperienced boaters, and for the first time, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sea Grant will have interns staged at boat docks to educate people about seagrass.

Scalloping season starts July 1 for most counties.

Savanna Barry, regional specialized extension agent, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences' Nature Coast Biological Station, says it is important that boaters understand the delicate balancing act to maintain scalloping seasons – because the bay scallop, which only averages a year lifespan, is dependent on the seagrass.

"When they spawn, their larvae float around in the water and they actually have to settle on seagrass blades, and that offers the structure for the baby scallops to kind of attach and then filter water and grow to be the scallops that we harvest," says Barry.

Barry says the most important thing an individual boater can do is to just be aware of seagrass and its importance, and if at all possible use channels and known deepwater areas when boating.

The Nature Coast, which includes Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties, plays host to 400,000 acres of healthy seagrass, which is the largest contiguous seagrass beds in the country.


Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Social Issues

play sound

This year's high school graduates will be eligible for 14,000 new scholarships offered through Opportunity Next Colorado, a $21 million investment …

The new law will apply only to future sales of Indiana farmland. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

Environment

play sound

Traffic deaths are trending higher in Minnesota this year after a decline the previous year. Groups pushing for safer roads are convinced a small …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021