Giant Scallop or Sea scallop

Introduction

The giant or sea scallop, Placopecten magellanicus, is found in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean
ranging from the north Gulf of St. Lawrence and northern Newfoundland to North Carolina.
Giant scallops are a highly valuable shellfish commercially, for instance, 57,151 tonnes of wild
scallops were landed at a value of $82 million in 2005. Consumer demand for fresh, high quality
scallops make scallops an attractive species for development. New technology, scientific
research and development and innovative culture methods have increased the viability of the
scallop industry in Canada. Sea scallops are predominantly cultured in Nova Scotia and Quebec.
In 2005, 11 tonnes of cultured sea scallops were produced in Canada at a value of C$91,000.

Of note, there was some early experimentation with the culture of bay scallops, Argopecten
irradians, an introduced species to Atlantic Canada. However, interest in culturing this species in
this region has declined. The Iceland scallop, Chlamys islandica, also exists in parts of Atlantic
Canada and there has been minor interest in culturing this species on the lower north shore of
Quebec. In British Columbia, there are successful farming operations for the Japanese scallop,
Patinopecten yessoensis. In 2005, 226 tonnes of cultured Japanese scallops were produced in
Canada at a value of approximately C$1 million.

Basic description

The scallop is possibly best known for its beautiful and distinctive shell. Scallops are bi-valve
molluscs, the type that have a hinged two-part shell. Scallop shells are fan-shaped and are
roughly equal in diameter, the top shell being slightly more convex than the other. Externally, the
shells have radiating ribs or grooves and concentric growth rings. Near the hinge, where the two
valves (shells) meet, the shell is flared out on each side forming small "ears". The upper shell is
reddish-pink in colour while the lower shell is white or cream in colour. Inside these shells is the
"meat" (the abductor muscle), which is the part of the scallop commonly eaten in North America.
The meat is white, firm in texture and has a mild flavour.
Cultured scallops have a two to three year grow-out cycle. Growth rates vary with location and
are dependent upon temperature and food supply. Cultured scallops are well adapted to
environmental conditions in Atlantic Canada as they are native to that region. Farmed scallops
are typically harvested when their shell is 50 to 90 mm (2-3.5 inches) depending on market
demand. Scallops are either sold live in the shell, like mussels and oysters, or are shucked and
the meat is sold fresh or frozen.

Background

Experimentation with scallop farming began in Canada in 1971 in the community of Port
au Port, Newfoundland and Labrador. The commercial scallop farming industry developed
in earnest in the early 1990s. By 1994, there were sea scallop farming operations in all five
Eastern provinces. Currently there are commercial-scale operations only in Quebec and
Nova Scotia. For a comprehensive description of the history of sea scallop culture in
eastern Canada, consult Couturier et al. (1995) (full bibliographical reference in the For
More Information section below).

Production

Scallop farming is a process that goes through four steps: one, spat or seed procurement; two,
intermediate culture; three, final grow-out; and four, harvesting and marketing.

Scallop farmers require a reliable source of spat. Spat refers to fertilized shellfish larvae that has
either been cultured from broodstock in hatcheries or obtained from the wild using artificial
collectors, which usually consist of "onion" bags filled with monofilament gillnetting. Spat
collectors are suspended in the water column in an area that has a local population of sea
scallops. The bags are generally deployed just after the scallops have spawned, which generally
occurs from mid-summer to autumn. Sea scallop larvae float through the water column for about
a month after which they ‘look’ to settle on uneven, rough surfaces such as the monofilament
gillnetting within the spat collectors. The spat collectors are left in suspension between 9-11
months during which the scallops are large enough (10 mm) so they will not fall through the
mesh bags or pearl nets, and their shells are hard enough to be handled and sorted.

Intermediate culture, which typically involves the use of pyramidal shaped pearl nets, trays or
small mesh lantern nets, is a necessary step for raising all scallop species for increasing both
survival and initial growth. When scallops are harvested from spat collectors, they are too small
for suspension or bottom culture – both potentially leading to escapement or predation.
Intermediate culture of juvenile scallops consists of growing scallops in pyramidal or conical
shaped "pearl" nets which are suspended on long lines in the ocean until they are large enough
for the final, grow-out stage. This step takes approximately one year, when their shells reach 40-
60 mm in diameter.

Scallop farmers can use several different types of techniques to grow-out juvenile scallops to
market size including pearl nets, lantern nets (a multi-tiered accordion style net), trays, large
cages, ear hanging (where a hole is drilled in the "ear" or auricle of the scallop and they are hung
on suspended ropes) or bottom culture (where scallops are seeded directly on the bottom of the
ocean). The most predominant method is the use of Japanese lantern nets or some variant on this
design. Scallops are sorted by size and loaded into the different levels and the nets are suspended
in mid-water. As the scallops grow they are thinned into larger mesh nets. The farmer must
balance two needs: to have a mesh net that is just small enough to prevent scallops from
escaping, and large enough to maximize water exchange. Growth varies from site to site,
however scallops grown in suspension systems take six months to two years to reach market size,
whereas bottom grown scallops require a further two to three years.

Like all bivalve shellfish species, scallops are filter feeders that consume nutrients that naturally
exist in the water column (microscopic algae and plankton). Scallops are sensitive to water
quality and fluctuations in water temperature and motion. Scallops prefer to be still, they don’t
like to be jiggled, therefore the longlines are suspended just far enough below the surface to
avoid wave action in the ocean. The optimum culture depth for a particular location will depend
on the distribution of the food in the water column and the depth to which wave action will
impact the suspended culture gear. Scallops grown in suspension systems are monitored
regularly and transferred into larger mesh nets as they grow because scallops do not like crowded
conditions. This monitoring also allows the farmer to regularly assess the health of the animals,
extract mussels (and other fouling organisms) that may be binding the scallops together from
byssus threads, and remove any predators, like starfish, that manage to get inside the nets.

A diagram illustrating suspended long-line scallop culture using seedbags, lantern nets and pearl
nets is available on the Nova Scotia Ministry of Agriculture website in a document entitled,
"Unit 3 Aquaculture: A Look at Fish Farming" (page 12, available in English only).

Canadians can enjoy fresh scallops twelve months of the year. Cultured scallops complement the
supply of oysters at your local seafood counter when wild, commercially-harvested oysters are
not available. Harvest times of cultured scallops are contingent on the type of products to be
marketed that require different sized scallops (50-90 mm) to be available throughout the year.
Farming methods and practices are adjusted to ensure a staggered supply to meet retail demand.
The main constraint to larger scale scallop development is that it is a capital and labour intensive
venture with relatively long grow-out period (three years from egg to minimum harvest size).
Several economic analyses have been conducted and culture techniques have improved over the
last decade to identify the best conditions to create an economically viable industry.

**Many thanks to Jay Parsons and Shawn Robinson for their permission to reproduce generous
portions of their work recently published in Scallops: Biology, Ecology and , 2nd Edition (2006)
for this species profile. For the proper bibliographical reference of this work, please see the For
More Information section below.

DFO Research Activity

The following studies are funded through DFO’s Aquaculture Collaborative Research and
Development Program:

 DNA-based family identification for Pacific scallop selective breeding program in BC

 Evaluation of sea scallop spat collection success in two sectors of the Gaspé Peninsula
  Evaluation of two sea scallop suspension culture strategies in the Magdalen Islands
 Characterization of seabed environments suitable for bottom seeding of sea scallops in
the Magdalen Islands
 Evaluation of an Iceland scallop (Chlamys islandica) transfer and grow-out strategy in the
Mingan Archipelago
 Determination of the origin of sea scallop spat used in culture operations in the Magdalen
Islands using genetic and metabolic indices
 Genetic characterization of the main sea scallop beds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
 Assessment of four seeding strategies for sea scallops based on size
 Fencing the seabed to protect scallops from predators
 Proceedings of the Scallop Aquaculture Workshop: Halifax, NS January 24, 2004
 Canadian and International Scallop Aquaculture: Current Status and R&D Challenges

For more information

Scallop farming in British Columbia (BC)

 Scallop farming has been underway in BC for 10-15 years. Although the potential for a
large viable culture industry is significant, the production of farmed scallops remains
relatively small. Scallop farmers in BC have achieved success in the development of the
Japanese scallop, Patinopecten yessoensis, which was adopted for culture in BC from
Japan. Recently, a superior hybrid of the Weathervane (native to BC) and Japanese
scallop has been developed for culture in British Columbia For more information related
to scallop farming in BC, please read the species profile prepared by the BC Shellfish
Growers Association (2005).

Parsons, G.J. and Robinson, S.M.C., 2006. Sea Scallop Aquaculture in the Northwest Atlantic.
In S.E. Shunway and G.J. Parsons (Eds.), Scallops: Biology, Ecology and Aquaculture, 2nd
Edition. Developments in Aquaculture and Fisheries Science, Vol. 35. Elsevier, The
Netherlands. pp. 907-944.

 Comprehensive and current information on the culture of Sea Scallops in Canada.

Excellent references for further study of this topic.

Nova Scotia Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture – Species profile (2006)

 Provides a detailed description of the hatchery and grow-out process for scallop
aquaculture.

Couturier, C., Dabinett, P. and Lanteigne, M., 1995. Scallop culture in Atlantic Canada. In: A.
Boghen (Ed.) Cold-water Aquaculture. The Tribune Press, Sackville, NB. pp.297-340.

Note: This page contains links to Web sites not under the control of the Government of Canada.
For further information on our hyperlinking practices, please refer to the Hyperlinking Notice.