BIOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY 177 



possible that the scallops would move out beyond the arbitrary limits. 

 The short life span of the scallop makes impracticable such measures as 

 the establishment of spawning or breeding sanctuaries except for brief 

 periods. 



Attempts have been made to cultivate scallops in Massachusetts, but the 

 results have not been certain. Some success has been achieved by trans- 

 planting scallops from heavily populated areas to depleted beds or by 

 moving them from shallow to deeper waters as protection from severe cold. 

 In transplantation the scallop presents a difficulty in that it does not survive 

 for extended periods out of water, and must be transplanted rapidly. Small 

 scallops appear to be hardier than old scallops. 



The possibilities of restoring the scallop fishery of North Carolina should 

 not be completely abandoned. Although the industry is almost non-existent 

 in comparison to former production, over 22 thousand pounds of scallop 

 meats were marketed in 1945. Scallops continue to appear sporadically 

 in localized areas, often following the appearance of eelgrass. It might be 

 that scallops would become re-established by the introduction of a vegeta- 

 tion to substitute for eelgrass. 



The bay scallop has been in demand and has been preferred to the sea 

 scallop. In March, 1949, the price received on the New York market for 

 bay scallops ranged from $8.00 to $10.50 per gallon as compared to $4.25 

 per gallon for sea scallops. The restoration of the bay scallop fishery in 

 North Carolina to its former productivity appears to merit serious con- 

 sideration. A program designed toward increased scallop production would 

 economically benefit the fishermen, since a demand exists for such a product. 



THE SEA SCALLOP 



The majority of sea scallops {Pecten grandis) are harvested from the 

 deep oceanic waters of the north overlying the well-known fishing "banks." 

 This scallop has never been of commercial importance to North Carolina. 

 Fishing trawlers and draggers working off the coast from Cape Hatteras 

 northward report catching an occasional sea scallop in their nets. It may be 

 possible that some extensive scallop beds do exist. Since some nets fish the 

 waters above the bottom, they may pass over the scallops, the presence of 

 which would not be known. 



Little is known at present of the life history of the sea scallop. It differs 

 from the bay scallop in that the sexes are separate. Drew (1906) reported 

 sea scallops to spawn in August. Since Drew was working with scallops that 

 had been moved from their natural habitat and kept in floating cages, a 

 change in environmental conditions may have initiated spawning. It is 

 perhaps significant that these scallops had not spawned under natural con- 

 ditions until August. Casual observations of the scallop fishermen working 



