The southern bay scallop, Argopeten irradians concentricus, is one of the only nonfinfish species to support a large recreational interest in the state of Florida. The subspecies once supported a considerable commercial as well as a recreational fishery along the west coast of Florida. Bay scallops, which require good water quality, had all but disappeared from Tampa Bay in commercially or recreationally viable numbers by 1963. The exact causes of these declines are unknown although deteriorating water quality may be a possible reason. The bay scallop is perhaps the most susceptible of the bivalve molluscs to poor water quality and due to the life-history and reproductive strategy of the species, populations can easily be lost from an estuary such as Tampa Bay. This Action Plan Demonstration Project was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of spawning bay scallops in Tampa Bay water and releasing juvenile scallops to areas of the bay where survival, growth and reproduction could be maximized. It was also the objective of the study to determine an estimate of the costs associated with a large scale restocking program not only for Tampa Bay but also for other Florida estuaries.