Atlantic Bay Scallop

The Atlantic bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) is found from Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico, and less commonly in Nova Scotia. In New York bay scallops are mostly found in the small bays and harbors of Peconic Bay on the eastern end of Long Island. Bay scallops have also been found in Great South Bay, Moriches Bay, and Shinnecock Bay. Eelgrass beds on sandy and on sandy-mud bottoms are the preferred habitats of bay scallops. Bay scallops grow to approximately 3 inches in length and live to 2 years of age. Shells are ribbed and possess a distinctive wing-like hinge. The shells also vary in color; they can be a bluish black color, orange, white or reddish brown. The bay scallop is the New York State Shell.

Bay scallops are bivalve mollusks: they have two shells. Inside the shells there is a single adductor muscle that closes the two shells tightly. This well developed muscle allows the bay scallop to clap its shells quickly and strongly. This clapping action propels the animal through the water, as water jets out between the shells. Bay scallops can escape crabs, starfish and other predators by flapping away. Juvenile bay scallops use byssal threads to attach themselves to blades of seagrass, other plants and even rocks to keep them away from crabs and other predators. Although many people eat most of the scallop, Americans usually only eat the well developed adductor muscle.

Since 1985 bay scallop populations have been decimated by repeated blooms of the brown tide organism in the 1980's and 1990's. During brown tide blooms, there are so many of the golden-brown organisms present in the water that the water turns coffee brown, hence the name "brown tide". This phytoplankton prevents the bay scallop from feeding properly and bay scallops starve during brown tide blooms. Furthermore, seagrass beds are shaded by the large numbers of brown tide organisms in the water and eventually die from the lack of sunlight. Not only are bay scallops directly affected by brown tide blooms, but their preferred habitat is affected as well, making it very difficult for scallops to recover from the blooms. Commercial harvesting of bay scallops has drastically decreased since the first brown tide bloom 21 years ago. The scalloping industry in New York has yet to recover from the devastating effects of the brown tide.

Bay scallops have blue eyes,
lots of them!*

Despite the decline in the number of bay scallops, they remain a popular seafood. In New York the bay scallop season is from the first Monday in November until March 31. Interestingly the adductor muscle is the only part of the scallop that is commonly eaten in New York.

*Photo courtesy of Stephen Tettelbach.