Customers might have to shell out for scallops in 2020

December 16, 2019 — The good times of heavy shellfish hauls for the American scallop fishing industry are likely to continue into next year, though prices could rise for seafood lovers.

The industry has been experiencing strong years recently thanks to high demand from consumers and heavy catches from the fleet. U.S. scallops were worth $532.9 million to fishermen at the docks in 2018, the third most profitable year in recorded history.

The New England Fishery Management Council predicted Wednesday that new rules for the 2020-21 fishing season will yield about 52 million pounds of scallops. That would be a reduction of more than 10 million pounds from the current season, but still a strong number compared to the middle part of the decade.

The shellfish typically cost $20 to $25 per pound to consumers, who have had easy access to them at stores and restaurants. Members of the industry “see the 17% reduction in supply putting upward pressure on scallop prices,” said Peter Handy, president and chief executive officer of Bristol Seafood in Portland, Maine.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Washington Post