skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, April 19, 2024

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

Tribal advocates keep up legal pressure for fair political maps; 12-member jury sworn in for Trump's historic criminal trial; the importance of healthcare decision planning; and a debt dilemma: poll shows how many people wrestle with college costs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Civil rights activists say a court ruling could end the right to protest in three southern states, a federal judge lets January 6th lawsuits proceed against former President Trump, and police arrest dozens at a Columbia University Gaza protest.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural Wyoming needs more vocational teachers to sustain its workforce pipeline, Ohio environmental advocates fear harm from a proposal to open 40-thousand forest acres to fracking and rural communities build bike trail systems to promote nature, boost the economy.

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
In Pennsylvania, more than 400,000 people are living with Alzheimer's disease. (C. Nathaniel Brown)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Alzheimer's disease is the eighth-leading cause of death in Pennsylvania. A documentary on the topic debuts Saturday in Pittsburgh. "Remember Me: …


Social Issues

play sound

April is Financial Literacy Month, when the focus is on learning smart money habits but also how to protect yourself from fraud. One problem on the …

Environment

play sound

Arizona conservation groups and sportsmen alike say they're pleased the Bureau of Land Management will now recognize conservation as an integral part …


Social Issues

play sound

The need for child care and early learning is critical, especially in rural Arkansas. One nonprofit is working to fill those gaps by giving providers …

Workers harvest a field before the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. (Jeff Huth/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

An annual march for farmworkers' rights is being held Sunday in northwest Washington. This year, marchers are focusing on the conditions for local …

Social Issues

play sound

A new Gallup and Lumina Foundation poll unveils a concerning reality: Hoosiers may lack clarity about the true cost of higher education. The survey …

Environment

play sound

As state budget negotiations continue, groups fighting climate change are asking California lawmakers to cut subsidies for oil and gas companies …

 

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