FishWatch

Harvesting Sea Scallop

U.S. commercial fishermen harvest sea scallops year round, primarily using New Bedford scallop dredges that catch scallops in a similar way as rakes collect leaves. A small number of fishermen use otter trawls, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic. Divers and Digby dredges are sometimes used in near-shore areas in the Gulf of Maine.

The bottom fishing gears used to harvest scallops (dredges and trawls) can remove some bottom habitat-forming organisms such as tubeworms and sponges. Managers have implemented a variety of measures to protect habitat from potential impacts of fishing gear:

• Several areas are closed year round to harvesting scallops to protect sensitive habitat in these areas.
• Managers have implemented a “Rotational Area Management” program which restricts where and when scallop vessels can fish, benefitting both habitat and scallop populations.
• Fishermen use 4-inch rings on their scallop dredges that increase the dredges’ efficiency in catching larger scallops and allow small scallops and other small marine life to return to the sea floor by passing through the dredge rings.The 4-inch rings reduce the amount of time dredges contact the bottom.
• 1.25 million pounds (567 metric tons) of the allowed scallop harvest is set aside each year to fund scallop and habitat research and surveys to provide better information for future management decisions.

Finfish (such as yellowtail flounder, skates, and monkfish), sea turtles, and undersized scallops can be incidentally caught in the scallop fishery. Managers seasonally prohibit fishing in areas where species like yellowtail flounder and sea turtles congregate, reducing catch of these untargeted species. Scallop fishermen receive an annual allocation of yellowtail flounder that they can catch. If the yellowtail catch is exceeded, managers will close areas where high catches of yellowtail have historically occurred for a portion of the next fishing year. They also restrict the number of fishing trips vessels with limited access permits can take in certain Mid-Atlantic areas to minimize risk to sea turtles, and as of May 1, 2013, scallop vessels in the Mid-Atlantic must use a Turtle Deflector Dredge (PDF) in the places and times where sea turtles occur on scallop grounds. (The Turtle Deflector Dredge excludes sea turtles from being caught in the dredge and prevents serious injuries to the turtles.) Scallop dredges must have a 10" mesh "twine-top" designed to allow fish to escape. Research and experimentation with different techniques and gears and education efforts have also helped reduce bycatch. NOAA Fisheries, the New England Fishery Management Council, and the fishing industry continue to collaborate to redesign scallop dredges to reduce flounder bycatch and minimize injuries and capture of sea turtles.

Management

Who’s in charge? NOAA Fisheries and the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils

Current Management: Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan

Managers determine a total allowable catch for the scallop fishery based of estimates of the scallop population. They allocate this catch amount to different groups of the fishery, depending on their permit type and historical catch, through “days-at-sea” and number of trips to special access areas.

Other management measures include:

• Gear restrictions to minimize bycatch and impacts on habitat (see Harvesting scallops)
• Limits on crew size (no more than a 7 man crew on open area trips)
• Areas closed to scallop dredging to allow young scallops to grow large and reproduce and to reduce bycatch of nontargeted species.
• Vessels harvesting scallops must also use vessel monitoring systems (a satellite communications system used to monitor fishing activities).

There is a sea scallop fishery in the Gulf of Maine that operates primarily in state waters. This fishery is managed by the state of Maine through gear and seasonal restrictions and rotational closures. Canadian fishermen also harvest Atlantic sea scallops in their waters from Georges Bank to Newfoundland. This fishery is managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Annual Harvest

The U.S. sea scallop fishery now supports the largest harvests in its history. Harvests averaged about 24,000 metric tons meats from 2003 to 2010, about twice their long-term average. The principal U.S. commercial fisheries for sea scallop are in the Mid-Atlantic (from Virginia to Long Island, New York) and on Georges Bank and neighboring areas, such as the Great South Channel and Nantucket Shoals. There is also a small, primarily inshore fishery for sea scallops in the Gulf of Maine.

Economy

The U.S. sea scallop fishery is extremely important to our economy and is the largest wild scallop fishery in the world. In 2010, U.S. fishermen harvested 57 million pounds of sea scallop meats worth over $449 million to the fishermen. Scallop vessels from Massachusetts, Virginia, and New Jersey are responsible for the majority of the U.S. harvest.