The Scoop on Scallop Fishing
Scallop fishing is a profitable business that is flourishing in many parts of the United States and Canada. There has been some controversy around scallop fishing in recent times because of the concern from environmentalists about over-fishing and the concern from fishermen about over regulation.
Scallops are recognized as a great source of protein and they are low-fat which makes them a winning combination and the fact that the USDA says that they also have high levels of selenium and vitamin B is a great bonus. The US sea scallop fishery is built around providing this great food source to all those who appreciate it and is recognized as the largest of the international wild scallop fisheries. There was scallop fishing worth about $370 million from 53.5 million pounds of scallop meat in 2008 and a bulk of this trade was in Massachusetts and New Jersey.
This establishes without question that scallop fishing is a major business. It helps to understand how scallop fishing works to know why there are concerns about the population becoming depleted too rapidly. Scallops are caught with what is called a drag and it is essentially a device in which a metal frame has a chain or rope mesh. This netting is towed through areas known to be scallop grounds and the scallops are then raked into a bag. The drag is then pulled aboard the fishing boat and the bag is emptied. Then the process starts all over again with the drag being used for one more round of towing. Places along the eastern and southern coast of Canada and the northwest coast of the United States are said to have some of the richest hunting ground for scallops. The Bay of Fundy between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia with its high tidal range is supposed to be one of the best places of scallop fishing.
Sea scallops are slow moving and they tend to congregate in the gravel and sand sediments in waters where the temperatures get quite low. They make for easy targets because their habitat is easy to demarcate. So, there is the possibility of overfishing. A clear understanding of the life cycle of the sea scallop and a respectful approach to maintaining the natural cycle of things will help in maintaining the scallop population.
Scallops have a life span of 20 years and they reach sexual maturity at 2. However, the egg production becomes significant only after age 4. There is separate sexuality and external fertilization. Summer and fall are the spawning season primarily, with spring spawning occurring in some regions. A fully mature female scallop can release millions of eggs every year and the larvae stay in the water for a few weeks before drifting to the bottom. Sea scallops become commercially attractive at about 4 or 5 years old although sometimes even younger scallops are caught and used. Given the wide spread population of scallops some prudent planning and rotation of fishing regions and make for environmentally-conscious fishing.
It is reassuring to know that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, a division of the National Marine Fisheries Service, indicates that the Atlantic Sea Scallop or Placopecten magellanicus is still there in the Atlantic waters in high numbers and says that there is no evidence of overfishing. The scallop population is being managed through an effort to limit and rotate harvest areas so as to avoid over harvesting one specific region. This also protects young scallop and allows the scallop population to re-establish itself.
In many places, local fishing councils are taking an active role in balancing environmental and fishing priorities. They are also helping by working around details such as the annual migration patterns of other animals in the water such as turtles. This is a good trend and by continuing it there is every reason to hope that scallop fishing can be a profitable and responsible enterprise.