Figure 7. — Example of high density commercial scallop concentration — over 50 scallops. 



in Florida at Port Canaveral and St. Augustine 

 and continued intermittent operations for 

 about 6 months. Since October 1967 all calico 

 scallops appear to have been landed at Port 

 Canaveral and St. Augustine in Florida and St. 

 Marys, Brunswick, and Darien in Georgia. The 

 Florida ports of Fernandina, Mayport, New 

 Smyrna, and Ft. Pierce are being considered 

 for future operations. 



Quality 



Calico scallops die soon after capture and 

 spoil quickly during hot weather and in direct 

 sunlight. Shell stock, even when kept in the 

 shade and sprayed with fresh seawater, be- 

 come "borderline" after 8 to 12 hours. When 

 kept at iced temperatures (34° F.) scallop 

 meats are organoleptically good for more than 

 a week. When frozen, the quality is excellent 

 and the shelf life is at least 1 year. When glazed 

 to prevent dehydration, shelf life is much 



Figure 6. — Example of medium density commercial 

 scallop concentration — about 30 scallops. 



longer. Experience has shown that, except dur- 

 ing cool weather, efficient mechanized handling 

 and storage and complete or partial processing 

 at sea are necessary to prevent spoilage. For 

 additional information, Webb, Thomas, Cara- 

 wan and Kerr (1969) report on the quality of 

 machine-processed scallops. Waters (1964) re- 

 ports on the storage life of iced scallops. 



Parasites 



Calico scallops are host to both commensal 

 and parasitic organisms. At times an opaque 

 yellowish parasite may be found encysted 

 along the periphery of the adductor muscle. 

 Although unidentified, it is probably a nema- 

 tode, possibly Porrocaecum pectinis, (Carl J. 

 Sindermann, personal communication, Febru- 

 ary 1969) which at room temperature emerges 

 from a cyst about 2 millimeters in diameter, as 

 a translucent hairlike worm less than 1 inch 

 long. It remains dormant when refrigerated 

 and apparently does not survive freezing. 

 Washing and freezing are the best methods of 

 treatment. It has no effect on either taste or 



