MILTON — The second annual Santa Rosa Sound and Big Lagoon Great Scallop Search is coming soon. If you are a snorkeler, or if you have a boat or kayak and want to contribute to a citizen science survey to determine if there are scallops in the Santa Rosa Sound and Big Lagoon, this event’s for you.
The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Florida Sea Grant Extension in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties seeks volunteers to participate in a scallop survey in Santa Rosa Sound on July 30 and Big Lagoon Aug. 6. The event is 8 a.m. until noon both days.
Volunteers will work in teams with a boat captain and three to four people to conduct the surveys.
Survey areas are a single nautical square mile, where four transects will be surveyed in each grid.
Snorkelers will search 50-meter transects in their assigned nautical square mile grids in Santa Rosa Sound and Big Lagoon. The Florida Sea Grant will loan supplies needed to conduct the surveys, but volunteers will need to provide their own snorkel gear.
These events are limited to 40 teams, and all captains and volunteers are required to pick up survey equipment and survey information between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. July 29 at Shoreline Park South and Aug. 4 at Big Lagoon State Park.
Volunteers are also needed to collect survey equipment from 9 a.m. until noon July 30 at Shoreline Park South boat ramp, Woodlawn Beach boat ramp and the Navarre Beach boat ramp.
Contact Chris Verlinde, 623-3868, or, after July 25, Rick O'Connor, 475-5230, for more information.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Santa Rosa Sound and Big Lagoon Great Scallop Search scheduled