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February 18, 2009
Harvesting scallops fills the lull for watermen
By SUSAN WEST
Pallets
of seafood boxes filled with bay scallops crowd the workroom at
Wanchese Fish Company in Hatteras on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
this winter.
“For some of these fishermen, this fishery is the only thing
going on right now,” said David Gaskins, a life-long commercial
fisherman who is running the company’s fish house in Hatteras.
Hamilton Gray is one of those fishermen.
Harvesting bay scallops from Pamlico Sound helps fill the lull between
flounder season and crab-potting for Gray in a winter when striped bass
have failed to move into the near-shore ocean waters off North Carolina.
“This is the only way for those of us who mostly work in the sound to make any money right now,” the fisherman said.
Gray and Adam Mackenzie have scalloped together since Jan. 26, when the
state authorized a limited fishery, controlled by low harvest limits,
gear restrictions, and time controls, in Pamlico and Core sounds.
The fishery was closed in January, 2006, after commercial harvests in
North Carolina flat-lined for two winters. A management plan in
2007 prohibited all commercial and recreational harvest until sampling
showed a high abundance of scallops.
Earlier this winter, sampling indicated populations of the short-lived
estuarine mollusks had hit the prescribed target of 1984-85 levels.
Gray and Mackenzie run their Carolina Skiff out about two miles from
the fish house, to a scallop bed just west of Barney’s
Slough. It takes about two hours for each man to harvest five
bushels, the limit for licensed commercial fishermen.
“We’ve been going back to the same spot every day and
there’s been plenty of scallops there. It’s almost
like the bed fills right back in,” Gray explained.
Gray and Gaskins both said favorable weather conditions, such as
relatively mild winters and few tropical storms, have probably
contributed to a surge in abundance.
“Mostly I’ve been using either a yard rake or just scooping up the scallops with my hands,” Gray said.
Hatteras fisherman Gaston Foster noted that the scallops are large, as well as plentiful.
“The yield is running about one-half gallon (of meat) to the
bushel,” said Foster, as he slid a knife into a scallop, scraped
away the organs, and cut the prized adductor muscle from the shell.
While the entire scallop is eaten in some countries, U.S. consumers
only eat the strong muscle that opens and closes the scallop shell.
Gaskins said around 35 fishermen are selling scallops to Wanchese Fish
Company’s facility in Hatteras. The company is buying both
shelled and the more valuable shucked scallops.
The fishery closes April 1.
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