Small scallop dredge2/10/2024 ![]() The scallops are then delivered to the shanties where the openers take over. ![]() Here they are checked by the warden for size and amount of catch. Upon filling this daily quota of 10īushels per day per boat, the boats return to the dock. If the air temperature falls below 28° F, no scalloping is allowed because the young seed would freeze and die before being returned to the water.Įach boat that fishes is allowed two licensed fishermen and each fisherman is allowed 5 bushels of shell stock per day. All seed scallops must be culled out and returned to the ocean. Would endanger the following year’s harvest. The scallop is considered mature when it reaches a width of about three inches.īecause the Nantucket Bay scallop lives only two years, scallopers mustīe careful not to dredge up too many “seed” or juvenile scallops, for that Self-propelled by sucking in water and then forcefully ejecting it. When the scallop grows to one and one-half inches in width it releases itself from the eel grass and becomes Spat attach themselves to the nearest underwater plant life which is usuallyĮel grass, and depend on tidal currents for their nourishment. Each year adult bay scallops spawn about 2 million eggs called spat. These scallops are harvested by 18-26 foot outboard boats outfitted with small chain link dredges. “You are what you eat” and these scallops thrive in an eco-system that give them their characteristic delicate, and sugar-sweet flavor. My granddad, my dad and my husband have all participated in the Nantucket fishery. They are harvested off the coastline of Nantucket, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Long Island. In a culinary world that prizes BIG, these scallops are small but their size belies a beautiful, big sweet flavor. ![]() The local New England bay scallop season is underway so it seemed like an ideal time to dive into this small scale fishery. ![]()
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