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Scalloping is the most fun you can have in the water in a Florida summer — snorkel over clear, knee-to-shoulder-deep grass flats, spot the bright blue eyes of a bay scallop in the turtle grass, and scoop it into your bag. It’s family-friendly, you don’t need a boat to start, and dinner doesn’t get any fresher. Here’s everything you need for the 2026 Florida bay scallop season.
2026 bay scallop season dates by zone
Florida runs scalloping on a zone-by-zone calendar, so the open dates depend on exactly where you’re getting in the water. Here are the 2026 dates for the main zones:
- Fenholloway through Suwannee Rivers (incl. Steinhatchee): June 15 – Labor Day (a reduced bag limit applied June 15–30).
- Levy, Citrus & Hernando Counties (Crystal River, Homosassa): July 1 – Sept. 24.
- Pasco County: CLOSED as of Aug 6, 2026. FWC shut the zone after Pyrodinium bahamense, a toxin-producing algae, was detected above National Shellfish Sanitation Program safety limits. It stays closed until testing comes back clean.
- Gulf County / St. Joseph Bay: CLOSED for all of 2026. FWC cancelled the season (it was scheduled to open Aug 16) after finding very low scallop abundance in the bay. The closure runs from the Mexico Beach Canal to the westernmost point of St. Vincent Island. Fishing and boating there are still fine — harvest is not.
Zones and dates shift year to year, so always verify the current dates and any zone-specific bag limits on the FWC bay scallop page before you launch.
Both closures above are covered in our mid-August 2026 fishing report, along with the zones still open.
Bag and possession limits
Standard recreational limits are:
- 2 gallons of whole scallops in the shell, or 1 pint of scallop meat, per person.
- 10 gallons in the shell (or ½ gallon / 4 pints of meat) per vessel, max.
Some opening windows carry a temporarily reduced limit, so read the fine print for your zone and dates.
What you need to go scalloping
Scalloping is the most family-friendly harvest in Florida — you’re snorkeling shallow grass flats, picking scallops off the bottom by hand. Here’s the kit.
Required by law: a divers-down flag or float displayed whenever you’re in the water. A towable torpedo float doubles as your flag and gives you something to clip your catch bag to.
The kit: new to it? The all-in-one scallop kit bundles a mesh bag, catch bag, and gloves. Otherwise grab a mask and snorkel, a pair of fins, a mesh catch bag to clip to your float, and light sun gloves for grip (skip heavy dive gloves — scallops don’t bite back).
Make it easy: a long-handle dip net to scoop them off the grass, a scallop knife for cleaning at the dock, and a floating cooler to keep your catch on ice.
How to actually find and catch scallops
- Hunt the grass, not the sand. Scallops sit in healthy turtle-grass beds in roughly 4–8 feet of water. Look for the row of tiny iridescent blue “eyes” along the open shell.
- Go on a clean, calm day. Visibility is everything. Wind and rain stir the bottom and turn a great day into a frustrating one — check the forecast and go early before the afternoon sea breeze.
- Work a grid. Once you find one, slow down — they cluster. Anchor mentally on that patch and fan out from it.
- Be gentle on the bottom. Don’t kick up the grass, and never dump shells back into rivers or swim areas — the piles damage seagrass and cut up swimmers.
Best places to go on the Nature Coast
The heart of Florida scalloping is the Nature Coast — Steinhatchee, Crystal River, and Homosassa lead the way, with Cedar Key and Keaton Beach close behind. Clear spring-fed water and miles of grass flats make this stretch the most reliable in the state. New to the area? Start with our Cedar Key & Nature Coast fishing guide for the lay of the land.
Make a day of it
Scallops in the morning, rods in the afternoon — the same grass flats hold redfish and trout. Bring a light spinning combo and keep fishing after you’ve filled the bag. See our seatrout guide and redfish guide to double up.
Bottom line: Pick your zone, confirm the dates on FWC, fly your dive flag, and chase clear water. There’s no easier or more rewarding way to put fresh Florida seafood on the table this summer. For more of what’s biting right now, check our summer fishing guide.
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