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at ports equipped to shuck on land. Very small scallops 

 are often processed in this kind of operation. 



The traditional Nevv Bedford type scalloper is between 

 70 and 100 feet long and averages about 149 GRT, although 

 the trend is toward larger vessels. It carries a crew of 

 9 to 11 and makes 20 to 25 trips per year, each averaging 

 between 8 and 10 days. 



In recent years the fishery has taken place in two 

 areas: tlie Mid-Atlantic grounds off New Jersey and on Georges 

 Bank. On Georges Bank itself, two areas have been important 

 scallop grounds: south western and the northeast parts of 

 the Bank. 



U.S. fishermen developed the Georges Bank scallop 

 fishery well before the Second World War. Canadian fisher- 

 men began scalloping on Georges Bank about 1951, although 

 the United States dominated the fishery until 1965. About 

 that time, many U.S. scallopers shifted their effort to 

 the newly discovered Mid-Atlantic grounds. 



The U.S. scallop fleet is divided between New England 

 based vessels and vessels based in the Mid-Atlantic area and 

 south to North Carolina. New England vessels accounted for 

 67 percent of U.S. landings in the period 1975-77. Of this 

 amount, 65 percent was harvested by dredgers while about 

 2 percent was harvested by otter trawlers. In the same 

 period, Mid-Atlantic vessels accounted for 33 percent of U.S. 



