December 23, 2013 — There was a moratorium on fishing for several species, including scallops, after stocks plummeted on Georges Bank in the late 1990s. By 2000, fishermen believed scallops had made a comeback, so they enlisted UMass Dartmouth for help.
Our beloved scallop, the biggest and best in the world, is right off our coast, waiting to make our lives better.
The scallop — or placopecten magellanicus — keeps New Bedford the most profitable fishing port in the United States. Those riches wash all over southeastern Massachusetts.
“The scallop industry has been good for six-odd years,” said Jeff Bolton, the vice president of sales and marketing for Atlantic Cape Fisheries, which operates a packing and shipping plant at 140 Waldron Road. “We employ 100 to 200 people, depending on the time of year and how busy it is.”
And the future for scallops is bright: The fishery is well managed and the food is sought after, Bolton said.
“It has become a really fashionable center of the plate protein,” he said. “Our species became a particular favorite because of its size and taste.”