GAINESVILLE (CBSMiami) – If you were looking for one more thing to blame on Tropical Storm Debby and it’s drenching rains, complain about the scallops. With the start of the season coming up, Debby’s aftermath if making the little animals hard to find.

The problem is runoff. Debby dumped so much rain on north and central Florida that creeks and rivers are pouring fresh water into the Gulf of Mexico.

Because of the unique features of many of those streams, the water is stained with tannin, one of the chemicals that colors tea. It’s making the outflow dark and easy to spot.

The colored water is expected to interfere with scallop hunters ability to hunt for the tasty critters at possiblt the worst time of the year.

Experts are also worried that all of that fresh water could hurt salt water levels in the Gulf where the streams enter, but to date the impact has been small.

There is no word yet on whether the problems could raise the price of scallops if the harvest is affected.