OZELLO, Fla. — Captain Aaron Hefty is staying busy right now because of the plentiful delicacy hidden in the shallow waters off Citrus County: bay scallops.
“It’s an underwater scavenger hunt,” said Hefty, the owner of Hefty’s Ozello Adventures.
His charter takes clients to hunt them, and that’s what he was doing Thursday when a scalloper hunting nearby — near the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge — was seriously hurt.
“I was heartbroken,” said Hefty.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), a boater who left the scene hit the man who was diving for scallops.
“And left the guy bleeding in the water in front of his family,” Hefty added.
According to a friend, Ed Walker, the scalloper used a diver-down flag to let boaters know he was in the water.
Walker said his friend “barely avoided being killed” by the boat, which went over him at “full speed” and “mangled” both of his legs.
For Captain Hefty, the news is tragic but not entirely unexpected, based on what he’s seen so far this scallop season.
“It’s been pretty rough. I’ve had to blow the whistle quite a few times — the airhorn quite a few times — slowing people down,” said Hefty.
He says a number of boaters are ignoring boating regulations, which say boaters must travel at an idle speed within 300 feet of a diver-down flag.
He says the speeding has been so bad that he recently bought a megaphone to add to his arsenal of tools used to alert problem boaters.
“That way, they can hear me,” he said.
He wants boaters to slow down and be more aware of their surroundings.
“On your throttle, your first click is idle. Leave it be. There’s no reason to bump it forward. We’re not in a hurry. The scallops aren’t going anywhere. Let’s all slow down. Pay attention. We don’t need any more injuries out there on the water,” Hefty said.
Hefty would also like FWC to write more tickets and have an even bigger presence near scalloping grounds.
“They are apparent out there but not as thick as they could be,” he said.
David Stump, a fellow charter boat captain and scalloping guide in Citrus County, puts more blame on companies that rent boats to people with little to no boating experience. He said those companies should focus more on educating their clients before allowing them to boat near scalloping grounds.
As for the incident on Thursday that left a scalloper injured, Stump, Hefty, and others hope anyone with information about the case will come forward.
According to the FWC, witnesses described the vessel as a Robalo or Sea Fox boat with a top. It might be either white, beige, or blue.
FWC is also asking homeowners with security cameras facing the Crystal River or Withlacoochee River to check their recordings for a vessel matching the above description between the hours of 1:30 p.m. to sunset on Thursday.
Anyone with information is asked to call FWC’s hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).
