Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
09/04/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/05/2025 07:12
Temporary closure of Gulf County Zone for 2025 regional bay scallop season
Today, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced a temporary closure of recreational bay scallop harvest in the Gulf County Zone. This region includes all state waters from the Mexico Beach Canal in Bay County to the westernmost point of St. Vincent Island in Franklin County, including St. Joseph Bay.
The FWC is tasked with proactively testing and acting to keep Floridians safe. This precautionary measure is due to the detection of toxin-producing algae Pseudo-nitzschia and Pyrodinium bahamense. The Gulf County Zone could reopen for scallop harvesting once tests show levels have decreased to safe limits.
In the Gulf County Zone, scallop harvesting is currently suspended. However, the area is still open for other recreational activities including fishing, boating and swimming.
For more information and updates, visit MyFWC.com/Scallops. Additional details on Pyrodinium can be found in the FWC Pyrodinium bahamense factsheet.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission published this content on September 04, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 05, 2025 at 13:12 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]