Biology of the species, Placopecten magellanicus
Some basic biological information about the scallop found in Atlantic waters may be found
here.
The scallop fishery currently is the highest value fishery landed at US ports.
There are approximately 300 vessels with limited access permits.
Geographic scope of the Atlantic scallop fishery:
The geographic range of the species extends roughly from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
to the Grand Banks and north of Newfoundland. Scallops are generally found in areas less
than 60 fathoms (480 feet) right on in to the beach.
The image above was plotted from data gathered from satellite transponders for 1999.
The transponders have been required aboard all Limited Access vessels since 1998, and General
Category vessels beginning in 2005. Each vessel is pinged every 30 minutes.
Vessel speed is estimated by computing the distance traveled between each polling,
with speed below 5 nautical miles per hour assumed to be fishing activity. Red areas
indicate areas of highest activity level. Although there is some variation, data from
other years is very similar based upon resource conditions, and which management areas
are open for the year.
Expansion of the fishery after establishment of the US Exclusive Economic Zone:
Because of the structure of favorable tax credits the number and size of vessels fishing
the US Atlantic scallop resource was greatly expanded after 1976 when the UN Law of the the
Sea established Exclusive Economic Zones out to 200 miles for countries having a coastline.
This served to expand the Atlantic scallop fleet from about 50 vessels, many of which fished scallops
for only a portion of the year, to over 400 modern vessels. Proceedings in the International Court of
Justice in the Hague went on until 1984, finally producing a ruling that turned the historically
productive eastern portion of Georges Bank to Canadian control. In overall effect we had many more
vessels fishing on much less area. A small number of vessels went to the west coast and on north to Alaska.
Limitation of the fishery:
In 1994 the majority of access to the US Atlantic fishery was limited to those who had
participated in the fishery within the first 9 to 14 years, i.e. 1985 to 1990. At this time there
are aproximately 300 Limited Access Permits, with each vessel allowed approximately 90 days
at sea (DAS) in order to limit the catch to a sustainable level.
A second access level within the scallop fishery, the General Category, was also established
in 1994. This permit originally allowed mostly smaller inshore vessels with a single smaller (up to 10'6")
dredge to catch scallops at a 400 pound per day limit. In what later proved disastrous for the local resource, two dredges up to 15'
each were allowed in this category for the Mid-Atlantic region. The category also included both the fish
trawlers and clam vessels who might take scallops as a bycatch while fishing under their fish or
clam permits.
Because of a rapid expansion in the number of vessels entering the scallop fishery
within this permit category, primarily larger vessels in the Mid-Atlantic operating under different
rules, where they were not limited to a single small dredge and able to retain bycatch, landings
from this sector skyrocketed and satellite tracking devices were required of all vessels
landing scallop starting in 2005. Here is an animation
of plots of Vessel Trip Report location data from these vessels for the last few years before the
trackers were required. The final screen plots the location of the NOAA Fisheries scallop survey.
Management:
The scallop fishery in US Atlantic EEZ is managed by the
New England Fishery Management Council established by the Magnuson-Steven Fishery Conservation and
Management Act of 1976, and as amended in the "Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996". The legislation is up for
renewal and several versions are in the drafting stage. Currently we operate under Amendment 10
to the Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP) which concentrates on development of rotationally fished areas.
Research related to the scallop fishery:
The background information relevant to the scallop fishery has a long history starting with early efforts
detailed by the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Massachusetts Landings, Belding, NOAA Fisheries and many others.
More recent efforts have helped document and understand resource status and distribution, the physical-biological
coupling, such as the influence of underlying circulation patterns, broadcast spawning, and larval behavior. Here
is a short list of references. There are a thousand more.
Many current research efforts are being funded by a Research Set Aside, a method of having the scallop
industry help develop the information seen as necessary for its own management. This funding method involves
setting aside 2% of the annual allowable catch and then allowing these scallops to be caught and sold to generate
the funds for individual projects concerning stock assessment, gear experiments for bycatch reduction for species
such as flounder and skate, interaction with protected species, such as turtles, and for habitat concerns.
To date
these efforts have been led by researchers from Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS, Dupaul, Rudders, Gedamke),
University of Massachusetts School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST, Stokesbury, Harris), Coonamesset Farm
(Smolowitz), and Phoel Associates. Recent collaborative efforts with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have
focused on underwater imaging for population assessment and substrate classification (Gallager, Howland, Vine, Taylor),
and monitoring of Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) in offshore areas (Day, Anderson, Taylor).
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