Aquipecten irradians, the scientific name for the bay scallop, is a species in low supply but high demand on dinner tables across the Island and country. Utilizing a lot of science, a healthy dose of ingenuity, and some help from Mother Nature, fishermen and town shellfish departments, supported by a considerable investment of more than $700,000 in taxpayer dollars this year alone, help sustain a bay scallop fishery on Martha’s Vineyard that is worth more than $1 million annually, sometimes much more.
Last year, commercial scallopers hauled 8,814 bushels baskets of the tasty mollusks out of local waters, according to figures reported by town shellfish departments in the five Island towns where scallops are harvested. The catch was worth $846,144 at an estimated wholesale price of $12 per pound of shucked scallops.
Depending on the size of the eye, or scallop muscle, on average one bushel produces about eight pounds. The price at wholesale and retail levels fluctuates dramatically during the season, as demand rises and falls.
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