OF MASSACHUSETTS. 63 



one of importance. A third method of migration is possible when the 

 young scallops are attached to eel grass by slender byssal threads. 

 When the eel grass is torn up the young scallops drift with the wind 

 and tide for long distances. In this way localities that have not had 

 scallops for years can again be restocked, Ingersoll (8). 



The scallop is short lived, very few ever reaching the two-year limit. 

 The majority, therefore, have only one spawning season. If any 

 adverse natural condition, such as a severe winter, kills off the small 

 " seed " scallops for that year, the total crop for the following year 

 will be exterminated, as it is a case where there is only one set of scal- 

 lops spawning at a time, and generations so follow generations that all 

 the scallops which are to furnish the spawn belong to the same set. 

 In this way the scallop crop of any locality is often wholly extermi- 

 nated, and it takes years before it can again assume its former propor- . 

 tions. Thus the uncertainty of the scallop crop makes it appear that 

 the scallops migrate from one town to another, as one town will have 

 an abundance one year, perhaps followed by a poor season, while the 

 reverse may be true for neighboring towns. So what has apparently 

 been considered a migration is in reality no migration at all, but is 

 merely due to the short life of this interesting mollusk. 



There are several facts that substantiate the non-migration of the 

 scallop. While none can be termed actual proof, nevertheless they 

 furnish strong evidence that the scallop as a rule does not travel far 

 from its native place. It was found almost impossible to obtain definite 

 data on the movement of the scallops, as there was no accurate way in 

 which to observe them in their native haunts. One attempt was made 

 which gave results of negative quality. About 400 tagged scallops were 

 liberated in Nantucket harbor in such a location that they would have 

 to cross the channel to get to the scalloping grounds. The scallops were 

 tagged with copper wire through the " ear " of the shell, which did not 

 hinder to any extent their movement, and were liberated in October, at 

 the beginning of the scallop season. Careful watch was kept by the 

 scallopers on the fishing grounds, but none were ever found, indicating 

 that they had not traveled. They were so located that the least traveling 

 would have carried them to some part of the scalloping territory. 

 The possible errors were: too few scallops, interference of the tags 

 with the traveling and the possibility that they were carried to other 

 places than the scalloping grounds, or that they were overlooked by 

 the scallopers. 



While there is much difference of opinion among the fishermen as 

 to the movement of the scallop, the majority believe that there is little 

 or no traveling, basing their claim on the fact that they find scallops 

 in the same place the year round, and that the beds shift but little. New 

 beds seem to spring up when the eel grass is rolled away, but the 

 scallops probably have been there always, or have been carried a short 



