If you like the idea of egg hunts or diving for sunken treasure, you will love scalloping. With just a mask, snorkel and fins you, too, can jump in and experience the adventure of diving for scallops. You will float along the surface quietly, patiently, over a sand bar in the Gulf of Mexico, off Florida’s beautiful Nature Coast, and take in the wonderful world of various fishes, plants and coral.

Then suddenly you will see one. A scallop! Take a deep breath, dive down and grab it before someone else does! Be sure to look close around and you just might see more. Remember, scallop beds are located mostly in shallow water and may only be harvested by hand or net.

Scallops are hard to spot because their natural coloring allows them to camouflage themselves on the bottom among the tall grasses. Most of the time their shells are open to feed and breath, but as soon as they sense an intruder they slam their shells shut and hide. When threatened, the scallop can swim backwards or up by clapping its shell halves together and rapidly expelling water.

The bay scallop is a member of the shellfish family. Spawning occurs at 1 year of age and in the fall, when the weather is cool. Unfortunately, only 1 egg out of 12 million will survive to live a full life, and in Florida they usually only live 1 year.