176 MARINE FISHERIES OF NORTH CAROLINA 



The quantity of scallops caught per day depends upon their abundance. 

 Outsell (1929) quotes prices, wages, catch and other facts concerning the 

 industry from which the bulk of this information is taken. A harvest of 40 

 bushels is (or was, in the 1920's) considered a good day's catch for one 

 man dredging. A raker could gather from 8 to 15 bushels a day. The price 

 received for the scallops depends upon their size and the grade of meats 

 shucked and the total production. Usually the scallops are shucked by the 

 fisherman and his family. In some cases, others were hired to do the shuck- 

 ing. The only part of the scallop utilized is the adductor muscle which is 

 proportionally large but represents less than one-half of the bulk of the 

 animal. The remaining parts are discarded as waste, a small amount of which 

 is used for fertilizer. The U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service has recently been 

 advocating the utilization of scallop waste for fish bait, particularly to 

 stimulate interest among the sea scallopers to save their waste and thereby 

 realize an additional source of income. In some countries all the soft parts 

 are used for human consumption. They are discarded in this country, pre- 

 sumably because of their conspicuous coloration and the tough mantle 

 margin. 



The yield of meats from a bushel of scallops depends upon the size of 

 the animal. Small scallops yield from two and one-half to a little over three 

 pints of meat per bushel. Large scallops may yield one gallon of meat per 

 bushel. An expert opener can shuck about a bushel of scallops an hour. 

 Scallops are graded into various size groups: small, medium, extra mediums, 

 large, and jumbos. Outsell (1929) made some actual counts of the number 

 of adductor muscles in the various grades and found considerable differ- 

 ences. In one case he found 113 and in another case, 63 in a quart of large 

 grade. At different seasons of the year such discrepancies may be expected, 

 for a mixed population would undoubtedly continue growth at parallel rates 

 for short-time intervals. Thus scallops that were small at the beginning of 

 the season may grow in a few months to mediums or even large-size meats, 

 but correspondingly those scallops that were large at the beginning of the 

 season would also continue growth. 



CONSERVATION. The scallop presents a problem that is more complex 

 than that of the oyster or clam. For many years conservation has been a 

 matter of legal regulation which may be considered restrictive conservation. 

 Knowledge of the life history simplifies to an extent the problem of proper 

 regulatory measures. The open season for scallops is in accord with the 

 findings of Outsell (1931) insofar as the spawning season is concerned. 



In attempting constructive conservation, problems arise which are pecu- 

 liar to the scallop. Its ability to swim and move about may hinder cultivation. 

 It would not be expected that the animals would migrate from favorable 

 grounds, but if certain areas are closed for conservation purposes, it is 



