HOLIDAY, Fla. — For the first time since scallop season returned to Pasco County's waters, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has given the okay for a 37-day season.

The hope is the longer season will come with a bigger economic boost.

What You Need To Know

  • This year's scallop season runs from July 1-August 6 in Pasco County.

  • This is the first year since scallop season returned to the county in 2018 that it's run longer than ten days.

  • Florida's Sports Coast's tourism director says the hope is the longer season will build on past years' growth to bring an economic boost to the county.

  • Last year's season brought in 24,000 visitors and more than $6 million in economic impact.

"We're getting close to 25,000 visitors that come in for a ten-day span, and now, we're going to be able to take that compression off of that ten-day span and really expand it over 37 days," said Adam Thomas, tourism director for Florida's Sports Coast, Pasco County's tourism bureau. "This year, we're going to be watching from a bird's eye view the population on the water, the visitors that are coming in, and the economic impact that they're generating."

Scallop season was put on pause in Pasco for 24 years due to over-harvesting. It returned with an abbreviated ten-day season in 2018.

The length of the season has stayed the same each year since, but Thomas said its popularity has grown.

He told Spectrum Bay News 9 last year's season brought in 24,000 visitors from around Florida and the southeastern United States and with them, $6.1 million in economic impact. 

Captain Steven Johnson said his Flats Snookin Inshore Charters has taken passengers in search of scallops out into the gulf for the past three years. 

"Interest has grown because a lot of folks didn't really know about Pasco scallop season, and now it's continued to grow and get better and better," Johnson said. 

Johnson said so far, bookings are about the same as this time last year, but more calls are beginning to come in.

"I think once it starts to kind of get a little deeper into it, we'll probably see a lot more bookings - especially if the scallops start to become a little harder to find," he said. 

Pasco County's scallop season begins July 1 and runs through August 6.