About a million scallop larvae were released Wednesday in hopes of re-establishing a healthy colony of shellfish in Sarasota Bay's sunlit seagrasses.

A coalition of groups joined forces to provide a biological booster shot to the bay, which has not harbored scallops in significant number for decades, said Jay Leverone, Ph.D., a staff scientist for one member of the coalition, the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program.