Many fisheries are slowing down at this time of year. The seas are getting rougher, the water is getting colder, and soon there will be ice near the shore. It might not seem like the right time for a fishery to open its season. But, winter is when scalloping begins.
Scallops are strange and beautiful shellfish. They are almost more fish than shellfish given their ability to move quickly. If you’ve ever tried to catch one, it is a bit comical how hard it is. They use their super strong (and tasty) adductor muscle to snap their two shells shut, propelling them forward in a powerful burst. In the scientific world, scallops are known as a “cosmopolitan” species – not because they are so tasty and valuable, but because they are found throughout the world’s oceans.
The scallop that we have in Maine is the Atlantic sea scallop, or Placopecten magellanicus. They live all along the northeast coast down to North Carolina. Further south, there is also a smaller scallop known as a bay scallop. This is the one with the lovely rippled or scalloped shell. The Atlantic sea scallop instead has a smooth shell that is typically pale pink in color and sometimes has fine striping, but no pronounced ripples. Its name comes from the pleasing (placo) comb-like (pecten) shape and from the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (magellanicus) who was the first to describe many of the species in the Northwest Atlantic. Adult scallops tend to be around four inches (the legal size to harvest them), but can get to be as large 7 inches across.
In addition to their unusual mobility, scallops have a unique sense of “vision.” All those wavy tentacle-y looking things sticking out from between the two shells are light sensors. There are about 200 of these “eyes” that have a complex set of what function like mirrors, making them very sensitive to differences in levels of light. This ability helps them both to avoid predators and also to find food. They can “see” where there are concentrations of plankton that they then filter out of the water.
That’s what scallops like to eat. But, we also like to eat scallops. What you see at the fish market is just the meaty adductor muscle of the scallop, but there is much more to the body. That includes the roe, which is also edible. In the United States, however, it is only legal to sell the muscle and not the roe. That’s because the rest of the meat, including the roe (eggs), can be affected by toxic plankton like those that cause red tides. For that reason, scallops are shucked immediately after they are harvested.
So, how are they harvested? The first way is by hearty divers. These are labeled “diver scallops” and get a higher price because of their gentler handling. The other method is by a drag or dredge, which is a heavy chain net of sorts that is towed along the seafloor. Because of the impacts these can have on the habitat, the drag fishery is divided into several areas that harvesters rotate through during the season. They also have special deflectors attached to them to avoid catching sea turtles. While turtles might not seem like a Gulf of Maine inhabitant, there are actually four species that live here – leatherback, Ridley, loggerhead and green. With warming waters, they have been seen more frequently in our northern region.
So, if scalloping only happens in the winter, where do the scallops come from that we eat the rest of the year? Most of those come from federal waters (those beyond the three-mile state boundary). In fact, the Northeast has the biggest wild scallop fishery in the world and was worth nearly $570 million last year. The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) manages the federal fishery.
The part of the scallop fishery that is restricted to winter is the one that happens within Maine waters. It begins in December and lasts through April. The people allowed to harvest scallops in Maine waters have to enter the scallop lottery. Every November, the state Department of Marine Resources (DMR) selects a limited number of people to harvest by drag and by diving. The lucky winners are just getting started now. You can identify their prized catch by its label as “dayboat” or “diver” scallops. It’s a nice way to celebrate the efforts of local Maine fishermen who are out in the toughest of weather to gather these quirky and tasty creatures.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
