DARTMOUTH, Mass. — August 8, 2014 — A video-based survey conducted by the School for Marine Science and Technology over nine weeks showed a 32 percent increase in the scallop population since 2012.
UMass Dartmouth marine scientists say they have documented a major increase in the scallop population on Georges Bank.
A video-based survey conducted by the School for Marine Science and Technology over nine weeks showed a 32 percent increase in the scallop population since 2012. That's an increase in scallop meat weight from 243 million pounds two years ago to 320 million pounds this summer.
"We are really excited about this," said Department of Fisheries Oceanography Chair Kevin Stokesbury.
On average, U.S. scallop stock is made up of 8 billion individual shellfish. This study discovered 20 billion additional juvenile scallops in the Nantucket Lightship and along the Southern flank of Georges Bank.
The scallops have not yet matured to commercial size, something Stokesbury said will help sustain the fishery for the next decade.
"Right now they are about the size of a dime," he said. "In a few years they will be commercial size and will be able to support the industry."
This is not the first time SMAST discovered a significant increase in the scallop stock. In 2003, the first time Stokesbury conducted his video-survey, SMAST observed about 12 billion scallops in the Elephant's Trunk area of Georges Bank. That discovery is largely credited for rebooting scalloping into the $550 million industry it is today.
Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard Times