)(JNC Sea Grant ^ N c April, 1982 



<o9 . M- Oes. MAY 2 1 



•• */' 'A 



NQiTH CAROLINA STATE LIBRARY 

 RALEIGH 



Photo by Neil Caudle 



Scallops 



The luxury seafood. Scarce, and 

 so rich in flavor, it even tastes ex- 

 pensive. 



In the past, scallops have held a 

 distinguished but modest place in 

 the bottom half of fisheries- 

 landings lists. Bay scallops were 

 few and seasonal. Sea scallops and 

 calicoes appeared and disappeared 

 with mysterious irregularity . 

 Processors handled what few 

 scallops they got with some of the 

 same laborious methods they had 

 been using for generations. 



In 1980, things changed. The 

 East Coast fishery landed $10 

 million worth of scallops. In 1981, 

 that figure rose to $40 million. 

 Word is out that the industry may 

 triple those dollars in 1982. 



There were several reasons for 

 the boom: Opportunistic fisher- 

 men, often from North Carolina, 

 were using big, steel-hulled boats 

 with increasing skill. New 

 machines multiplied the 

 Continued on next page 



Photo by Steven Wilson 



The calico scallop 



A hopper of calicoes heading for the steam box 



