PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has suspended scalloping in St. Joseph Bay after detecting toxin-producing algae.

The closure stretches from the Mexico Beach canal in Bay County to the tip of St. Vincent Island in Franklin County. Officials say people can become sick if they eat contaminated scallops.

District 3 Gulf County Commissioner Randy Pridgeon said the shutdown will hit local tourism.“Anytime they do this, it does affect our tourism. Scalloping is the biggest thing we have here in our bay,” Pridgeon said. “We bring people from all over the South just for scalloping.”

Bobby Russell traveled from Arkansas for his first Florida vacation, only to learn his scalloping trip was canceled.“We booked a scallop trip, great trip down he

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