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Seafood Watch - Seafood Guide

Bay Scallops

© Jose Lietor Gallego
SEAFOODRATINGMARKET NAMESWHERE CAUGHTHOW CAUGHT
Bay Scallops Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Catarina Scallop Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico Diver-caught
Pink Scallops Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Smooth Pink, Reddish Scallops, Swimming Scallops Canada Pacific Butterfly Trawl
Scallops Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Scallops Worldwide Farmed
Sea Scallops Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Giant Scallop, Hotate U.S. Atlantic Dredged
Sea Scallops Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Lion-Paw Scallop Laguna Ojo de Liebre and Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico Diver-caught
Sea Scallops Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Chilean Scallop, Fan Scallop, Peruvian Calico Scallop Sechura Bay, Peru Diver-caught
Sea Scallops Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Giant Scallop, Digby Scallop, Hotate, Petoncles Canadian Atlantic Dredged
Spiny Scallops Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Pink, Pacific Pink, Swimming Scallops Canadian Pacific Butterfly Trawl
Weathervane Scallops Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Alaska scallops Alaska Dredged


Bay Scallops, Magdalena Bay, Mexico Diver-caught

There are concerns about the population size and fishing quotas for Mexican bay scallops. However, these scallops are hand-collected by divers, a method that causes very little bycatch or habitat damage. For these reasons, diver-caught scallops from Magdalena Bay, Mexico, are a "Good Alternative."

Consumer Note

Two kinds of scallops are sold: the marshmallow-sized sea scallop (sometimes called giant scallop) and the much smaller bay scallop.

Scallops use a strong, circular muscle to clap their shells together, letting them "fly" through the water and out of harm's way. It's this circular (abductor) muscle that's prized as seafood.

Summary

Bay scallops grow quickly and mature at a young age, traits that make them resilient to fishing pressure.

Mexican bay scallops, also known as catarina scallops, are found along the Pacific coast from Mexico to Peru. In Magdalena Bay, Baja California, Mexico, divers collect these scallops by hand - a method that results in little bycatch or seafloor habitat damage.

Although fishery managers assess these scallop populations regularly, concerns remain. Information about population size and assessment methods is not available.

When considered together, these factors result in a ranking of "Good Alternative" for diver-caught bay scallops from Magdalena Bay, Mexico.

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