If you had a scalloping trip on the calendar this weekend, cancel it.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shut down recreational bay scallop harvesting across all Pasco County state waters on Thursday, Aug. 6, after routine monitoring detected Pyrodinium bahamense at concentrations exceeding National Shellfish Sanitation Program safety thresholds. Pyrodinium bahamense is a microscopic organism that produces toxins making shellfish unsafe to eat.

The closure is immediate. It covers all state waters south of the Hernando-Pasco county line and north of the Anclote Key Lighthouse in northern Pinellas County, including the Anclote River. The season had been scheduled to run through Aug. 18, meaning the shutdown cuts it 12 days short.

What's still allowed

Fishing, boating and swimming remain permitted throughout the Pasco Zone. Only scallop harvesting is suspended.

The Pasco County government posted the closure on its official Facebook page Thursday evening, relaying the FWC announcement. The Tampa Free Press reported that FWC described the measure as proactive, taken to protect residents and visitors.

No reopening date has been set. FWC said the zone may reopen once follow-up testing confirms toxin levels have dropped to safe limits.

The 2026 season opened July 10 and drew families from across the area to Pasco's coastal waters. The county's parks department ran three-day Scalloping Mini Camps through July as part of its Coastal Explorers program, launching from Robert K. Rees Memorial Park in New Port Richey. Campers paddled kayaks about 15 minutes offshore and snorkeled in 4 to 5 feet of water, collecting scallops they could take home.

Senior program specialist Sydney Henderson, who led the camps alongside colleague Chloe Carter, told the Tampa Bay Beacons in early August that the program blends education with time on the water. "There are worse ways to spend your summer break, but still learning," Henderson said.

Those camps wrapped before the closure hit. But the early shutdown means anyone who planned to scallop through mid-August will need to wait for FWC's all-clear or head to zones that remain open.

Bag limits when the season reopens

Recreational harvesters are limited to 2 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell, or 1 pint of shucked meat, per person per day. Vessels are capped at 10 gallons in the shell or a half-gallon of shucked meat. Commercial harvesting is prohibited.

Residents can check for reopening updates at myfwc.com/BayScallops.