Scientists try repopulating scallops off FL coast | News

SARASOTA, Florida (AP) - Scientists are hoping to restore the decimated mollusk population by releasing millions of microscopic scallop larvae into the waters off southwest Florida.

There have not been enough scallops to allow recreational collecting, or commercial harvesting, since the 1960s.

This weekend volunteers helped scientists place four million baby scallops in the water. They hope at least one percent survive.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports the larvae were collected from Anclote Key and taken to a hatchery at the Bay Shellfish Company where they were monitored for weeks.

An annual count found 93 adult scallops in the bay earlier this year.