Questions about Gathering Mussels, oysters or clams in the area (Jacksonville: safer, beach)

[mattbward]

Hey folks, I am from Knoxville and in the area doing some comedy shows. I googled this question and read different things for about a half hour and simply cannot find an answer to a few questions I had.

1.) Is there a season for digging for clams or gathering oysters or mussels in Pensacola?

2.) If it is IN season right now, where are some spots where I could find such mollusks?

Thanks
Matt Ward

[markbrockman]

From this forum post: Digging for Clams - Daytona Beach Forum - TripAdvisor

Digging for clams in Florida used to be very popular. There used to be a great many of them. Between the over harvesting (especially when they brought the giant clam rakes (commerical ones) from up north) and the polution in the waterways, clams are pretty hard to find. Not sure about the Daytona area, we find very few here (melbourne / sebastian) nowadays. Most are "grown" in seed beds by commercial harvesters who would not be happy to find you digging in their clam beds. (they are usually marked by lots of white pvc poles in the water). I did hear that further north around Jacksonville you can still dig up some decent clams but I know I would not eat any out of the river around here. You also have to be careful of sting rays which hide in the mud where the clams are buried.

I'd also mention that clams from New England are safer. And there should, I'd think, be a clamming licence and size restrictions, but the game wardens sure aren't putting the info out on the internet.

Also to consider, there might be a reason no one does this, ya know.

[beachmouse]

There's a fair amount of scalloping in Saint Joseph Bay east of Panama City, but that's a long drive from Pensacola.