about 1,816 kg (4,000 lb.) of scallop meats per 

 24 hr (Cummins and Rivers, 1970). 



Shell stock from the Cape Kennedy grounds 

 has been landed at Darien, Brunswick, and St. 

 Marys, Ga.; and at St. Augustine, Port Canav- 

 eral, and Ft. Pierce, Fla. A shore-based plant 

 for machine-processing is located at Port Ca- 

 naveral. 



According to one estimate, a total of 20 million 

 lb. (9,080,000 kg) of scallop meats could be pro- 

 duced annually on the Cape Kennedy grounds 

 by 40 vessels (National Marine Service, see foot- 

 note 7). Despite this potential, commercial op- 

 erators have had problems both in locating con- 

 centrations of scallops and in the use of the 

 mechanical shucker-eviscerators. These factors 

 are reflected in the production figures. 



Northeastern Gulf of Mexico 



Exploratory fishing by private organizations 

 from 1954 to 1958 located commercial concentra- 

 tions of calico scallops in the northeastern Gulf 

 of Mexico in the general area of Cape San Bias, 

 Fla. (University of Miami Marine Laboratory""; 

 Bullis and Ingle, 1959; Carpenter, 1967). Ex- 

 ploratory fishing by the Bureau of Commercial 

 Fisheries from 1957 to 1960 revealed extensive 

 beds of scallops in 19 to 46 m between Carra- 

 belle, Fla., and Mobile, Ala. Heaviest concen- 

 trations were in depths less than 37 m off Cape 

 San Bias and off Gulf Shores, Ala. (Carpenter, 

 1967). 



Beginning in March 1958 a large bed of scal- 

 lops in 13 to 37 m of water northwest of Cape 

 San Bias was fished commercially. Scallops were 

 caught at first using scallop trawls and later with 

 dredges (Bullis and Ingle, 1959). The scallops 

 were landed in Panama City, Fla., and shucked 

 by hand (Carpenter, 1967) . By September 1958. 

 the yield of meat per scallop had declined to 

 where fishing was no longer profitable. These 

 scallops disappeared from the bed sometime pri- 

 or to the summer of 1959 (Hulings, 1961). 



"" University of Miami Marine Laboratory. 1954. 

 Shrimp exploration - report of cruise No. 1 - trawler 

 Goodwill, June 17-July 10, 1954. Mar. Lab., Univ. Mi- 

 ami, unpublished circular 1 prepared for Tampa Shrimp 

 Producers' Assoc, and Fla. State Board Conserv., 3 p., 

 ML 7876. 



Production in the northeastern Gulf area since 

 1958 has been restricted by poor market price 

 (Bullis and Ingle, 1959), inadequate shucking 

 facilities (Captiva, 1966) and by fluctuating 

 stocks of scallops. Recently, a shore-based plant 

 for machine-processing was constructed at 

 Apalachicola, Fla. 



SUMMARY 



1. The calico scallop, Argopecten gibbtis, sup- 

 ports a small, developing fishery off the south- 

 eastern coast of the United States and in the 

 Gulf of Mexico. This report summarizes avail- 

 able information concerning calico scallop biol- 

 ogy and the fishery. 



2. The calico scallop is separated from closely 

 related species within its range by shell char- 

 acteristics. Shell morphology of the calico scal- 

 lop varies with locality. The valves are well in- 

 flated and there are 17 to 23 ribs on the right 

 valve. Shell color is variable, usually with red 

 or maroon mottling or banding on a white or 

 yellow background. Maximum size is about 

 80 mm in shell diameter. 



3. This species apparently is restricted to the 

 western North Atlantic Ocean. Its known range 

 is from the northern side of the Greater Antilles 

 and throughout the Gulf of Mexico to Bermuda 

 and slightly north of Cape Hatteras. It is gen- 

 erally found in open marine water on continental 

 or insular shelves. Depths of occurrence, how- 

 ever, range from less than 2 m to 370 m. 



4. Environmental factors that probably in- 

 fluence distribution and/or growth of the calico 

 scallop include currents, temperatures, salinities, 

 substrates, and food supply. Scallop larvae are 

 transported by currents, and eddies formed by 

 coastal projections may cause repeated settling 

 of the larvae, resulting in great concentrations of 

 scallops near capes. Scallop beds are generally 

 distributed along the flowlines of currents. Bot- 

 tom temperatures associated with calico scallops 

 range from 9.9° to 33.0°C; salinities from about 

 31 to 37'/ r . Scallops are generally found on sand- 

 shell substrates, and shell may be necessary for 

 successful settlement of small scallops (spat). 

 Scallop abundance may be dependent upon plank- 

 ton concentration, and possibly related to up- 

 welling. 



5. The greatest known abundance is off the 

 Florida east coast near Cape Kennedy. Lesser 



16 



